As the World Sings
by Soulless Warlock
Summary: A little bit of love! A little bit of music! A little bit of the characters you love! Or love to hate! They're all here because the World is Singing while the World is turning.
1. Every Story has a Beginning

**Summary: It took a little soul-searching (a supreme irony, if you ask me) and then I decided to write a follow-up to **_**UnNUKEly Musical,**_** but this time I wanted to include my favorite characters from **_**As the World Turns**_**. And, with that, **_**As the World Sings**_** was born.**

**It's really simple story to be honest, just take **_**UnNUKEly Musical**_**(for those of you have read it, if you haven't, you don't need too, but I'd appreciate it) and apply it to this story and you're set.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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The sound stage of _**As the World Turns**_ was empty. The actors, tech crew, and directors had gone home for the evening, resting for the next day when they brought the world of Oakdale and the angst-riddled citizens to life again. The lights seemed to magically come to life in the kitchen set of the Snyder Farm. Sitting the little kitchen island was a young man clad in wizard robes, a notebook resting near his arms, and looked as if he was in deep concentration.

Soulless Warlock's ears perked up when he realized that music was playing somewhere off the set. He looked up to see the audience that was staring back at him from the information superhighway. Soulless Warlock glided slowly out of his chair, setting it back to where it was originally. He waved to the audience and began to sing.

Soulless Warlock: _**Every story, tale or memoir, every saga or romance, whether true or fabricated, whether planned or happenstance.**_

He crossed over to the door, the light following him as he did, entering into the Old Town set.

Soulless Warlock: _**Whether sweeping through the ages, casting centuries aside, or a hurried brief recital, just a thirty-minute ride.**_

He removed his wand from his jacket, casting a summoning spell and the cast appeared, in character and costume.

Soulless Warlock: _**Whether bright or melancholy, rough and ready, finely spun, whether with a thousand players or a lonely cast of one.**_

On those words, the lights faded, focusing solely on Soulless Warlock, as he started to vanish from sight.

Soulless Warlock: _**Every story, new or ancient, bagatelle or work of art, all are tales of human failing, all are tales of love at heart.**_

The writer completely vanished as the music picked up the pace, segue-waying into the next chapter.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoy. The next chapter will be longer, I promise.**


	2. Fortune Favors the Brave

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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The cast of _As the World Turns_ appeared on stage, the music picking up pace. They sang together.

Cast: _**Oh, oh, fortune favors the brave…Oh, oh, fortune favors the brave!**_

They separated from the line. Jack Snyder sprang out from the group, who had lined up on his opposite sides, girls on one side, boys on the other. Jack started to sing in a raspy, but powerful tenor.

Jack: _**We have swept to glory; Oakdale's mastery expands from Bay City's northern most delta to the dry, dry southern sands. **_

_**The more we find, the more we see, the more we come to learn the more that we explore, the more we shall return! **_

The cast turned into two separate lines, marching toward Jack like an army, singing.

Cast: _**Oh, oh, fortune favors the brave!**_

Janet approached her husband, allowing him to twirl her.

Jack: _**It's all worked out, my road is clear the lines of latitude extend, way beyond my wildest dreams, toward some great triumphant end. **_

He kissed her on the cheek, releasing her into the line, as Carly danced around her ex, and into the arms of Craig Montgomery. Jack hopped onto a bench, taking the spotlight again.

Jack: _**We seize the day! We turned the tide! We touched the stars! We mocked the grave! We moved into uncharted lands!**_

Jack rejoined the cast, singing with them.

Jack and the Cast: _**Fortune favors the brave! **_

The music continued to blare, as the cast began to move around the set, which was slowly morphing into a real-life Oakdale.

Jack: _**The more we find, the more we see, the more we come to learn the more that we explore the more we shall return.**_

Jack picked up his daughter, Sage, and spun her around. He handed her to her aunt Rosanna before singing again.

Jack: _**Nothing is an accident; we are free to have it all. We are what we want to be, it's in ourselves to rise or fall. **_

Jack looked out into the horizon, a smile on his face.

Jack: _**This is easy to believe, when distant places call to me it's harder from the palace yard, fortune favors the free… **_

The cast began to disperse, returning to their usual hangouts, harmonizing as they did.

Cast: _**Oh, oh! **_

Jack: _**Fortune favors the young!**_

The cast vanished from Jack's sight but he still heard their voices, which were sounding off as one.

Cast: _**Oh, oh! **_

Jack: _**Fortune favors the brave!**_

Jack held that final note as the stage went black, completing its transformation to studio soundstage to the small town of Oakdale.

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**A/N: I promised that this chapter would be long and it was…By a lot more than two whole words! Hope you enjoy.**


	3. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Seth Spencer sat alone, save for the bartender, Walt, in his father's bar. He could normally be found in the bar, but usually he was hiding in plants or trying to play with the customers. Today, however, was totally different. He wasn't moving at all, just staring at the wall. Walt couldn't even figure out if Seth had blinked in the two hours he had been sitting there. Too be honest, it was kind of u unnerving.

"Hey, Seth," Walt said. "You ever gonna drink that?"

Seth stared off at the mirror, his hand resting on a shot glass.

"Yeah, yeah," Seth said. "I'm just nursing it."

"You haven't even touched it."

"And as long as it's my father's bar, I'll do whatever the hell I want!" Seth snapped, causing Walt to leap back. "Sorry."

Walt pursed his lips and bent over the counter. "Wanna talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about," noted Seth. "I was in a relationship, now I'm not. End of story."

"And it's the end of the story because…" Walt said, trying to establish a talking point.

"Because I know no matter what I do, I'll never be him," Seth replied.

"Seth, when has that not being like somebody else ever stopped you before?" Walt asked.

"Never has," Seth said. "But, when it comes to keeping Maddie happy, I don't want to take any chances."

Walt groaned. "So, you're just gonna be alone for the rest of your life?"

"You know, I told this to your dad a long time ago, it's the sacrifice that I made to help others," Seth argued.

"Kid," Walt said. "I never thought I'd say this but you are a coward."

"What?" Seth shouted, finally moving.

"A coward," Walt repeated. "You're just gonna be that guy who rolls over for everyone because they're afraid of hurting others."

"I am not a coward!" Seth yelled.

"Then go out there and get your woman back!" Walt shouted.

"No!" Seth said, sitting back down.

Walt sighed and walked out of the room, passing the jukebox. He pressed the "on" button, letting a tune out. Seth threw down the shot glass, shattering it, cursing as he did,

Seth: _**Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!**_

He tossed the stool over,

Seth: _**I've grown accustomed to her face. She almost makes the day begin. **_

He turned to notice the picture that Samuel had placed behind the bar: The picture taken of him and Maddie when she recreated his disastrous senior prom, them dancing at Samuel and Emily's wedding, and, he still wasn't sure how Ryan was able to pull that stunt off, the picture of them sharing a kiss under the mistletoe in their first Christmas in his apartment.

Seth: _**I've grown accustomed to the tune that she whistles night and noon.**_

Seth moved across the bar, demonstrating the things he loved about his ex.

Seth: _**Her smiles, her frowns, her ups, her downs are second nature to me now; like breathing out and breathing in.**_

He stopped at the pool table, pushing the white ball into the setup balls.

Seth: _**I was serenely independent and content before we met; surely I could always be that way again. **_

He stopped for a moment, every piece of self-control keeping him from drinking all the booze in the bar. Alcohol overdose would show her! (No, bad Seth, bad thoughts out!)

Seth: _**And yet I've grown accustomed to her look; accustomed to her voice; accustomed to her face. **_

He placed his hand on his legs, feeling something. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a blue velvet box: The engagement ring. And that…Seth growled…

Seth: **"Marry Casey." What an infantile idea. What a heartless, wicked, brainless thing to do. But she'll regret, she'll regret it. It's doomed before they even take the vow!**

He smiled wickedly.

Seth: _**I can see her now, Mrs. Casey Robert Hughes in a wretched little flat above a store. I can see her now, not a penny in the till, and a bill collector beating at the door. **_

_**She'll try to teach the things I taught her, and end up selling flowers instead. Begging for her bread and water, while her husband has his breakfast in bed.**_

He slapped himself in the face, trying to knock out his wicked thoughts. Unfortunately, Seth couldn't control himself.

Seth: _**In a year, or so, when she's prematurely grey, and the blossom in her cheek has turned to chalk. She'll come home, and lo, he'll have upped and run away with a social-climbing heiress from New York.**_

Seth danced around the bar, happily.

Seth: _**Poor Madeline. How simply frightful! How humiliating! How delightful!**_

He thought about the possibilities.

Seth: _**How poignant it'll be on that inevitable night when she hammers on my door in tears and rags. Miserable and lonely, repentant and contrite.**_

He turned, looking over at the fourth wall. The one doesn't exist in anything I write, inquiring to the audience.

Seth: _**Will I take her in or hurl her to the walls? Give her kindness or the treatment she deserves? Will I take her back or throw the baggage out?**_

Seth picked up a pool cue, cracking himself in the forehead. His features soften, thinking about what he was condemning her to…

Seth: _**But I'm a most forgiving man; the sort who never could, ever would, take a position and staunchly never budge. A most forgiving man. **_

'But, wait a tick," he thought. 'They hurt Ali too.'

He growled.

Seth: _**But, I shall never take her back, if she were even crawling on her knees. Let her promise to atone; let her shiver, let her moan; I'll slam the door and let the hell-cat freeze!**_

Seth waved of his next thought.

Seth: **"Marry Casey"-h a!**

Seth's features softened again, Alison could forgive them, why couldn't he?

Seth: _**But I'm so used to hear her say, "Good morning" ev'ry day. Her joys, her woes, her highs, her lows, are second nature to me now; like breathing out and breathing in. **_

He smiled.

Seth: _**I'm very grateful she's a woman and so easy to forget; rather like a habit one can always break. **__**And yet, I've grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air; accustomed to her face.**_

Seth sat down at the bar as the music began to swell when the door opened.

"I'm sorry," He began, "We're…"

He turned to face the possible customer, stopping when he saw Maddie standing before him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," Seth returned.

The scene went black as she moved closer to the bar, a tentative smile on both of their faces.


	4. They Say It's Wonderful

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**A/N: This chapter is set in the 1940s, giving it a more film noir film. Spruce it up with some black-and-white-style filming and you have this little scene.**

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The chiseled features of Paul Ryan, Oakdale's resident PI, surveyed the room, wondering where his contact was. He had been tracking the missing daughter of the wealthy industrialist, Craig Montgomery, and, if he was gonna get anywhere in this case, he knew that Metro would be the place to check. Paul cracked his knuckles before down another shot of scotch, his eyes still navigating the bar.

They stopped on the stage when the overture to a popular song began to fill the bar. The stage lights came up as blonde woman in a red dress appeared on stage, her back to the audience. Paul placed his glass back on the glass down and watched the woman give a sultry shake of her hips before turning around to face the audience.

She was a statuesque middle-age woman, maybe a year older than Paul himself, but she had a natural beauty that was not diminished by the nights she had spent in Metro. Paul could tell a lot about a person just by looking at a person and he could this dame could either be trouble or give him a nice feeling. But the long of the short of it, she was a woman he wanted to meet.

The woman approached the microphone, a smile on her face as she motioned to the band to slow the melody down. She began to sing:

Woman: _**They say that falling in love is wonderful; it's wonderful, so they say. **_

She looked out into the audience, making eye contact with Paul. The woman threw him a smoldering look.

Woman: _**And, with a moon up above, it's wonderful, it's wonderful, so they tell me.**_

The woman walked off of the stage, moving slowly toward Paul, flirting with the balding, middle-aged men who, normally, wouldn't be given the time of day from a woman like her.

Woman: _**I can't recall who said it, I know I never read it, I only know they tell me that love is grand. **_

The singer stopped at Paul's table, placing her hand on his.

Woman: _**And the thing that's known as romance is wonderful, wonderful in every way, so they say.**_

She moved in closer, whispering in his ear, "The name's Emily and if you wanna find the Montgomery girl, you'll wait for me till this gig is over."

Emily stepped back, singing to the audience.

Emily: _**You'll leave your house some morning and, without any warning you're stopping people, shouting that love is grand. **_

Emily stretched herself out on Paul's table, her smooth hand caressing his face, which got a wild ovation from the patrons of Metro.

Emily: _**And to hold a man in your arms is wonderful, wonderful in every way, so they say.**_

She winked at him as the melody faded out. Emily pulled herself up as another opening chorus began to play again. She walked away from the table as Paul smiled to himself.

"She's gonna be both," he murmured to himself as he took a sip of his refilled glass.

He was gonna enjoy this show. To be honest, it was probably going to be the only thing he enjoyed until this case was finished.

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**A/N: Another chapter in the can and another musical performance logged in. And remember, the little green button on the bottom center of the screen is your friend. Every time you review a story an angel gets its wings…or a kitten is born…or something…Something good happens, that's all I really know.**


	5. Always on My Mind

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Summary of the scene: This is after Margo and Tom split up for the millionth time. Tom is trying to woo her back.**

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Tom Hughes, guitar in hand, crossed through the yard of the home of his sister-in-law, Katie Peretti, catching sight of the one window that had a light on. He picked up a rock, lining it up in order to keep destruction of private property from being added to trespassing on private property. He launched the rock into the air and it cracked into the plastic of the window. Nothing happened.

Tom growled at this result before throwing another rock at the window. He repeated the process until he lost his temper and launched a rock at the window, shattering it. The lights of the house turned on and he could see someone heading for the door.

"Oh shit!" he hissed, running for the driveway.

The porch light turned on and a gun cocked, aimed right at Tom's back.

"Freeze!" a feminine shouted.

Tom turned around slowly, smiling weakly at his wife.

"Tom?" Margo said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Tom raised the guitar. "Would you believe me if I said I was coming to serenade you?"

"I would say that you have officially lost your mind," Margo said, lowering her gun.

Tom smiled nervously, the one thing he had learned in his 20 plus year relationship with Margo was to never piss off a woman with a gun.

"And I would agree with you," Tom said. "But, I figured that moments like this call desperate measures."

"Tom, I am tired and you, well, let's face it, you don't look like you've slept in three days," Margo countered. "Let's talk tomorrow."

Margo turned to walk back into the house when Tom started to play the guitar, singing to her:

Tom: _**Maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have. And maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I could have.**_

Margo turned, her ears (and maybe even her heart) opening for her husband and their song.

Tom: _**Little things I could have said and done, I just never took the time. You were always on my mind…**_

Tom smiled at Margo.

Tom: (almost a whisper.) _**You were always on my mind…**_

At this point, Katie had opened the window and poked her head out of the window, unsure of how to react to the sight before her.

Tom: _**Maybe I didn't hold you all those lonely, lonely times. And, I guess, I never told you I'm so happy that you're mine.**_

Tom moved in closer to Margo, noticing a ghost of a smile on her face.

Tom: _**If I made you feel second best, girl, I'm sorry I was blind. You were always my mind…You were always my mind…**_

Tom stopped halfway to the porch.

Tom: _**Tell me; tell me that your sweet love hasn't died. And give me; give me one more chance to keep you satisfied. I'll keep you satisfied. **_

Tom began to play a small guitar solo, Margo chuckling at the goofy grin on his face.

Tom: _**Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time. You were always on my mind…You were always on my mind…**_

He stepped onto the porch, giving Margo a quick peck on the cheek, singing in her ear.

Tom: _**You were always on my mind…You were always on my mind.**_

The middle-aged couple's lips seemed to hang in midair, unsure of what to do, before Katie shouted.

"For the love of God, Margo, take him back or I swear I'll marry him!"

"The hell you will!" Margo said, grabbing Tom by the collar and kissing him.

Tom got into the kiss, his lips overpowering Margo's before she pulled back, their foreheads rubbing against each other.

"Come on in," she said. "We can talk now."

Margo turned and walked back into the house. Tom did a giddy dance on the steps. He jumped off the steps and blew a kiss at Katie.

"Thanks for the save," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Katie said, waving her brother-in-law off. "And please don't sing, I was trying to sleep."

Tom gave a thumbs up before running into the house. Tonight wasn't gonna be as humiliating as he thought.

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**A/N: This is the first time I've written a Tom/Margo one-shot. I hope it's up to par with their love story or, at least, up to par with the more goofy and playful side that I see whenever they actually get screen time.**


	6. The Day I Fall in Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Summary: The scene is set during the In the Heights grand reopening. The place was burned down because of the return of Daniel Belmont (read the Soap OC Character Profile: Chapter Two. The Samuel Spencer Profile to that character's story) and has been rebuilt.**

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At the grand re-opening of In the Heights, Seth and Luke were still waiting for their respective girlfriend and boyfriend to make an appearance.

"Where you think they are?" Luke asked, getting up for the eighth or ninth time that evening.

"Luke, if I knew where they were, I would've told you the last 500 times you asked." Seth responded, his own head craning around the room to see if Noah or Maddie were sneaking into the room.

"And our next act," The gruff voice of Don O'Dell filled the room, "Is from right here in Oakdale. Please welcome Noah Mayer and Maddie Coleman."

The spotlight came up and Noah and Maddie appeared on stage, sitting comfortably on two stools.

Noah raised the microphone to his lips, "Maddie and I want to dedicate this song to the two most important people in our lives." He said, winking at Luke.

The music began and Noah started to sing.

Noah: _**Just an ordinary day, started out the same old way. **_

He tapped Maddie on the shoulder.

Noah: _**Then I looked into your eyes and knew today would be, a first for me the day I fall in love.**_

Maddie joined in, smiling at Seth.

Maddie: _**On the day I fall in love, sky will be a perfect blue. **_

She gently nudged Noah with her foot, smiling at her ex.

Maddie: _**And I'll give my heart forever more to someone who is just like you the day I fall in love.**_

Noah and Maddie's voices merged together, Maddie standing up, her voice growing as she did.

Noah and Maddie: _**People all say love is wonderful, that the bells will ring, birds will sing, the skies will open. I wonder where's that great big symphony…**_

Maddie walked off of the stage, moving toward Luke and Seth's table.

Maddie:_** Roll over Beethoven, won't you play with me?**_

Noah jumped off the stage, landing a few feet away from Maddie and joined her in her walk toward the table. They moved closer to their boyfriends and sang.

Noah and Maddie: _**And I'll never to be true to anyone…**_

Noah took his solo.

Noah: _**Unless it's you…**_

Maddie: _**Unless it's you…**_

Noah and Maddie: _**The day I fall in love!**_

The singing duo looked at each other, Maddie dropping into Seth's lap while Noah pulled Luke out of his chair, the latter couple dancing.

Noah and Maddie: _**People all say love is wonderful…**_

Noah: _**Love is wonderful!**_

They sang together again.

Noah and Maddie: _**That bells will ring, birds will sing, the skies will open. I wonder where's that great big symphony…**_

Noah: _**I'll be your Beethoven…**_

Maddie: _**Roll over, Beethoven…**_

Noah: _**Come and play with me!**_

The Band grew louder and more triumphant, as Noah and Maddie approached the opposite sides of the stage, singing.

Noah and Maddie: _**Just an ordinary day, started out the same old way. Then I looked into your eyes and knew today would be…**_

Maddie: _**A first for me…**_

Noah repeated the line.

Noah: _**A first for me…**_

Noah and Maddie: _**The day I fall in love.**_

Noah:_** I know you'll be there…**_

Maddie: _**Oh, oh…**_

Noah and Maddie: _**The day I fall in love!**_

The music faded out, Seth and Luke both grinning at their girlfriend and boyfriend's little dedication. Seth looked at Luke, giving him a wordless sign. The duo darted across the stage, tackling their lovers to the ground.

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**A/N: I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty easy to write. Namely because I'm comfortable with these couples. Hopefully, I'll get more comfortable with writing the other couples.**


	7. Every Time We Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Samuel walked onto the stage of the _In the Heights, _the spotlight shining off of his silver-white hair.

"Dad," Ryan Spencer shouted, shielding his eyes, "We're going blind back here."

"Seth, can you shut him up?" Samuel asked, motioning for his oldest son to handle his heckler youngest son.

The sounds of a fight could be heard the back of the room. Samuel cringed before turning his attention back to the audience.

"I wanna slow things down…" He paused for a moment when he saw that Seth was beating Ryan in slow motion, "Except for you two!"

Seth resumed pounding on his brother in normal speed.

"This is a song that I think everyone can dance to." He said, snapping his fingers to rouse The Band.

The musicians began to play a slow, melodic tune. Samuel moved closer to the microphone and began to sing:

Samuel: _**Every time we say goodbye, I die a little. **_

Tom stood up, offering his hand to Margo, who graciously accepted. They danced out onto the floor, swaying to Samuel's smooth baritone.

Samuel: _**Every time we say goodbye, I wonder why a little. **_

Casey followed his father's lead, grabbing Alison and leading her out onto the dance floor. He was soon joined by his grandparents, Bob and Kim Hughes.

Samuel: _**Why you gods above me, who must be in the know, think so little to me they allow you to go? **_

Seth had finally stopped beating on Ryan long enough to pay attention his girlfriend, who had tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to dance.

Samuel: _**When you're near there's such an air of spring about it. I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it.**_

Ryan was ready to break up the dancing couples before he was intercepted by Faith Snyder, who dragged him out onto the dance floor.

Samuel: _**There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor every time, every time we say goodbye.**_

The Band played a heartfelt string solo while Holden and Lily had made their way out onto the floor, soon joined by Luke and Noah a few moments later.

Samuel: _**When you're near there's such an air of spring about it. I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it. **_

Samuel was so busy observing the dancing couples; he didn't notice that Susan Stewart had climbed onto the stage, sneaking up on him.

Samuel: _**There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor every time, every time we say goodbye.**_

She kissed him on the cheek, causing him to jump into the air. He turned to see her and smiled before singing the final words of the song.

Samuel: _**Every time we say goodbye.**_

The music faded out as Samuel pulled Susan close and finished the melody dancing with her.

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**A/N: I know that Lisa is Casey's grandmother and Kim is his step-grandmother, but she's been married to Bob all of his life and she loves him like a grandson, so it counts as grandparents. Plus, I couldn't find Lisa a boyfriend or a date for the event. (I was thinking of letting her dance with O'Dell, but I decided against it. I might pair them up later.)**


	8. In My Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**A/N: Just one thing before we get started, I know that Bob and Kim have been married for 23 years, but I'm altering the length of their marriage to match Chris' age. Also this version of In My Life is the Johnny Cash cover. I figured this was a better choice since Bob is older and, if you watch Don in all of his scenes, introspective.**

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"For our next act, I want you to put your hands together for a tent-pole in our community," O'Dell said. "Please make Dr. Bob Hughes feel at home."

The audience clapped for the respected physician, who walked onto the stage, an acoustic guitar in his hands. He took a seat on the stool O'Dell had placed on the stage, allowing him to rest the guitar on his lap.

"Hello," he said in a deep bass, "I'm Robert Hughes."

He threw a playful wink to his wife of over 30 years, Kim, before he began to play a slow and melodic tune on his guitar. O'Dell recognized the tune and knew where Bob was going with this little song.

"Hey," Bob heard Adam shout, "isn't that my guitar?"

Bob tried to hide his face in the shadows, looking as far away from his grandson as possible. He turned his attention back to the music before he began to sing in a slow, but nonetheless spellbinding bass.

Bob: _**There are places I'll remember all my life though some have changed, some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain.**_

He looked out at the crowd to see his grandsons, Adam, who seemed more surprised by Bob's hidden talent than anything else, Casey, and Daniel, with their parents, and the love of his life, looking up at him, a smile on her face.

Bob: _**All these places have their moments with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living, in my life I've loved them all.**_

He strummed on the guitar, breaking out a small chord piece for about fifteen seconds before he sang again.

Bob: _**But of all these friends and lovers, there is no one compares with you. And these memories lose their meaning when I think of love as something new. **_

_**Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them, **_

He looked at Kim, smiling.

Bob: _**In my life I love you more.**_

Bob began to play another solo, one that lasted for a good minute and a half before singing directly toward Kim.

Bob: _**Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them, in my life I love you more. **_

He strummed the guitar again, standing up and singing.

Bob: _**In my life I love you more!**_

The audience applauded the good doctor, who took a bow and returned Adam's guitar to its rightful owner.

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**A/N: I know Bobbles wouldn't steal a guitar, just thought I'd toss that in as a funny.**


	9. Change the World

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine. **

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**A/N: This will be the last song performed during the In the Heights reopening in this four-part arc. The next chapter will be a callback to a rather popular Valentine's Day episode.**

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Seth raced onto the stage of the club, jumping up and down like a five year old who had found the sugar, motioning for someone to join him. Casey darted onto the stage, stealing Adam's guitar from his brother. Seth gave Mick Martin, the club's DJ to turn on the music. Casey joined in with the invisible band, playing an upbeat tune as Seth moved in closer to the microphone, singing.

Seth: _**If I can reach the stars, pull one down for you, shine it on my heart so you could see the truth: **_

He nodded at Maddie and sang to her, getting a smile from his wife and their six-month old son, Matthew.

Seth: _**That this love I have inside is everything it seems. But for now I find it`s only in my dreams.**_

Seth turned to Casey, who cued him for the course of the song.

Seth: _**And I can change the world; I will be the sunlight in your universe. You would think my love was really something good, baby if I could change the world.**_

Seth removed the mike from its stand and placed in front of Casey, who took his solo.

Casey: _**And if I could be king, even for a day, I`d take you as my queen; I`d have it no other way. **_

Casey's tenor voice grew stronger in the coming words.

Casey: _**And our love would rule in this kingdom we had made. Till then I'd be a fool, wishing for the day...**_

Casey stood up and sang with his friend, who had more enthusiasm than ever.

Casey and Seth: _**That I can change the world, I would be the sunlight in your universe. You would think my love was really something good, baby if I could change the world.**_

Casey: _**Baby if I could…**_

Seth: _**Change the world.**_

Much like his grandfather had done earlier in the night, Casey played a well-placed guitar solo.

Seth and Casey: _**I could change the world; I would be the sunlight in your universe. You would think my love was really something good,**_

Seth glided across the stage, singing to the crowd.

Seth: _**Baby if I could… **_

The duo alternated around the chorus, reaching the end.

Casey: _**Change the world…Baby if I could… **_

Seth: _**Change the world…Baby if I could… **_

Casey: _**Change…**_

Casey and Seth: _**The world!**_

Casey played the final chords of the song, before he and Seth took a bow to the applauding audience.

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**A/N: Hope you all enjoy. And remember, Luke and Noah are gonna be the characters that I focus on in the next chapter.**


	10. Elaborate Lives

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**A/N: I'm actually breaking down and doing a one-shot that centers around the Victorian-era Christmas Day episode of As the World Turns. Of course, I'm adding my little twist.**

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Noah Mayer cut through the Grimaldi family household, hoping to catch Luciano before he did something rash. He walked out the front door and was kicked by the bitterly cold winds. Noah looked around, spotting a light from the barn. He walked over to the cracked door, sticking his head in and looking around for his "friend".

"Grimaldi?" he called out.

Noah was answered by a snowball to his face, knocking him to the snowy ground.

"How in the hell?" he muttered to himself, standing back up, knowing he had picked the right place to look.

"You couldn't of just told me?" Luciano's voice cut through the silence.

Wiping the snow out of his face, Noah looked at Luciano, groaning when he caught sight of him in the lantern light.

"I was going to," Noah began, "but, then we…"

"You were afraid?" Luciano questioned, moving closer to Noah.

"Well, after what we've done," the stammering Mayer began, "it's hard to tell one of the other's romantic intentions."

"You didn't have to ask," the blond man said, pushing the brunette.

"Yes, yes, I did," Noah argued. "Grimaldi, my father has placed me in a position in his organization that has quite a bit a social standing."

"And what would a high ranking member of society be without a woman on his arm?" Luciano argued.

"Do you think I like this?" Noah fired back. "Do you think I like to lie about what I feel? Madeline doesn't deserve that sort of thing."

"Madeline?" Luciano asked. "Is that your fiancée?"

"Yes," Noah said. "And she's one of the greatest people I've ever met."

Luciano sighed, "Do you love her?"

"In a way," Noah said.

"Of course," the younger man stated. "Men like you always love women in a way."

"Don't start," Noah argued, pushing past the shorter of the duo.

"What's your father going to say when the grandchildren don't start rolling in?" Luciano inquired, grinning wickedly.

Noah stopped, rubbing his weary eyes.

"Unlike you," he began, "I don't have a problem with having…relations with a woman."

"Yes, because your confidence is oh-so clear," Luciano said, his grin never leaving his face.

"Why did I even bother going after you?" Noah argued. "You're just as stubborn now as you were then."

Noah pushed open the barn door, only to have Luciano's voice stopped him. "Mayer?" he said.

Noah turned and looked at the blond young man. He could almost hear music playing in the air. Luciano moved in closer, singing to Noah.

Luciano: _**We all lead such elaborate lives, wild ambitions in our sights. How an affair of the heart survives days' apart and hurried nights?**_

Luciano took Noah's hand, leading him away from the door and into the lit part of the barn.

Luciano: _**Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to live like that. Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to love like that. I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser, free.**_

Noah rested his head on his former lover's shoulder, letting him sing to him.

Luciano: _**We all live in extravagant times; playing games we can't all win. Unintended emotional crimes take some out, take others in. I'm so tired of all were going through; I don't want to live like that. I'm so tired of all were going through; I don't want to love like that. **_

The music was growing in the air, Luciano's hands were around him, Noah felt whole for the first time in a long time.

Luciano: _**I just want to be with you now and forever, peaceful, true.**_

Luciano sang out, his face a hairsbreadth away from Noah's.

Luciano: _**This may not be the moment to tell you face to face, but I could wait forever for the perfect time and place. **_

Noah joined in with Luciano, their voices blending together to create a perfect harmony.

Luciano and Noah: _**We all lead such elaborate lives; we don't know whose words are true. Strangers, lovers, husbands, wives, hard to know who's loving who? **_

Noah took a brief solo.

Noah: _**Too many choices tear us apart, I don't want to live like that.**_

Luciano: _**Too many choices tear us apart, I don't want to love like that, I just want to touch your heart. **_

Luciano's lips moved closer to his once and future lover, silently singing,

Luciano: _**May this confession… **_

Noah felt his jacket slip off, but did not feel the cold, as he and Luciano sang,

Luciano and Noah: _**Be the start!**_

The two young men kissed, society be damned where love was concerned. The lamp blew out as the music faded away.

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**A/N: Another chapter complete. I was actually thinking about writing a Victorian-era Nuke story. Though I think a lot and never actually do, so don't take what I wrote at face value, it may or may not happen.**


	11. From This Moment On

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Alison Stewart walked through the Oakdale Mall, her eyes surveying the different stores, trying to find the perfect Christmas present for her boyfriend, Casey Hughes. Alison wanted their first Christmas in their first apartment to be special. And not just that "christen every room in the apartment with sex" kind of special. All thought, that's always fun too.

'God,' she thought, chuckling a little. 'I've been hanging around him way too long. Mind went right to sex.'

And the thought of sex, unfortunately, knocked her on her fanny. In her distraction, Alison had walked into a new stand that had been set up in the mall that summer. Alison examined the stand before realizing that it was a recording stand. Those things where you could yourself singing the songs of different artists with the music and everything.

Alison smiled at the idea of giving Casey an album of their favorite songs with her vocals. Hell, music had played such a big part in their relationship it seemed appropriate. She climbed into the booth, not realizing that Casey was walking right by the stand as the curtain closed.

Much like Ali, he was looking for a perfect gift for their first Christmas in their first apartment. He had suggested that they christen every room with sex, but only as a joke. A half-serious joke. Casey's eyes surveyed the store, hoping to spot the perfect gift via window shopping. He was about to enter the store by the recording stand when music seemed to feel the air.

Casey stopped when he thought he heard Alison singing.

Alison: _**From this moment life has begun... **_

Casey paused, looking around for Alison, wondering if he had finally gone crazy. But, he heard her voice again and, apparently, so did a couple of other shoppers, who were enjoying the sounds themselves.

Alison: _**From this moment you are the one. Right beside you is where I belong from this moment on.**_

The music changed pace again as Casey, the oblivious fool that he is, searched for the source of her voice.

Alison: _**From this moment I have been blessed, I live only for your happiness, and for your love I'd give my last breath from this moment on. **_

The music soared as Alison's voice grew.

Alison: _**I give my hand to you with all my heart, can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start. **_

Casey was finally turned in the right direction by Walt O'Dell, O'Dell's son, who had figured out where Ali's voice had come from.

Alison: _**You and I will never be apart, my dreams came true because of you.**_

The orchestra swelled, the violin dominating the string section as Alison belted out.

Alison: _**From this moment as long as I live, I will love you, I promise you this there is nothing I wouldn't give from this moment on.**_

Casey put his hand on the curtain, not sure what to do next, his ears still transfixed on Ali's voice.

Alison: _**You're the reason I believe in love and you're the answer to my prayers from up above. All we need is just the two of us; my dreams came true because of you.**_

Alison belted out for the second time.

Alison: _**From this moment as long as I live, I will love you, I promise you this there is nothing I wouldn't give from this moment…**_

Before she could finish the song, Casey flung open the curtain, causing her to jump. She glared at him before singing.

Alison: _**I will love you as long as I live from this moment on!**_

Casey wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, who pinched his arm.

"Ow!" he shouted, releasing her from his grip. "The hell was that for?"

"Jerk," Alison said. "You spoiled my surprise."

"Well," Casey said, licking his lips and thinking for a moment. "Not exactly."

Alison looked at him quizzically, "Explain, Hughes," she said. "And make it good."

"I've always been a big believer that stocking stuffers were not meant to be surprises, just things that we know people are gonna get us," he explained, "but we love them anyways."

"What're you getting at, Casey?" Alison finally asked.

"How 'bout we make a duet CD, make two, and put 'em in each others' stocking this Christmas?" he concluded.

"And then fake a surprise?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Something like that."

Alison shrugged, "Ah, what the hell, it's not I haven't faked anything in our relationship."

Casey laughed aloud at her comment before realizing what she was implying.

"Hey!" he shouted.

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**A/N: Another chapter done. I hope you all enjoy. I'm sorry that I haven't had time to update regularly, but with mid-terms over with, I should have more time. **


	12. A Little Bit In Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**A/N: This is my first Parker/Liberty story, so if I screw up I apologize immensely. This little scene is set after Liberty's miscarriage.**

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"The doctor said you needed to sleep," Parker Snyder said to Liberty Ciccone as he gently pushed her back into the hospital bed.

"But, I'm feeling fine," she said.

"Yeah, but your mom would never forgive me if something else happened to you," he retorted. "Besides, it would make me feel better if I knew you listened to the doctors."

The groggy Liberty looked at Parker, opening her mouth to protest, only to feel the medication the doctors had given her take effect.

Liberty opened her eyes to discover she was in a smoke-filled room, wearing a gorgeous blue sequin dress. She looked around to discover that she was in a lounge, not unlike the one her mother once worked in when Liberty was seven. Liberty looked out to see the audience that always awaited the singer of the evening along with that annoying musical group that always managed to get the people in the town to sing when they least expected it.

Much to her annoyance, The Band began to play, the melody moving her closer to the microphone. Liberty resisted the pull the music was having on her, but her mouth loosened up when she saw Parker, looking rather handsome in a suit and tie, sitting at the table closest to the stage. She took a deep breath before humming along to the melody, the hum turning into words.

Liberty: _**I'm a little bit in love, never felt this way before. Just a little bit in love, or perhaps a little bit more.**_

She removed the microphone from its stand, turning her attention to Parker.

Liberty: _**When he looks at me, every thing's hazy and all out of focus. **_

Liberty stepped back, her feet barely touching the ground.

Liberty: _**When he touches me, I'm in the spell of a strange hocus-pocus.**_

She bobbed side to side, singing.

Liberty: _**It's so, I don't know…I'm so, I don't know…I don't know but I know if it's love then it's lovely.**_

Liberty hummed, approaching the edge of the stage.

Liberty: _**It's so nice to be alive when you meet someone who bewitches you. **_

She glided off of the stage, landing safely next to Parker.

Liberty: _**Will he be my all or did I just fall a little bit, a little bit in love?**_

Liberty circled Parker, her hand running from his left shoulder to his right.

Liberty: _**When he looks at me, every thing's hazy and all out of focus. **_

She repeated her dance, moving around Parker, his eyes transfixed on her.

Liberty: _**When he touches me, I'm in the spell of a strange hocus-pocus.**_

Liberty smiled at Parker's reaction to her movements. She looked over her shoulder, a sultry look on her face.

Liberty: _**It's so, I don't know…I'm so, I don't know…I don't know but I know if it's love then it's lovely.**_

She hummed again, moving closer to Parker.

Liberty: _**It's so nice to be alive when you meet someone who bewitches you. **_

Liberty fell back, landing in his lap.

Liberty: _**Will he be my all or did I just fall a little bit, a little bit in love?**_

Liberty took advantage of the situation, grabbing Parker by the tie and pulling him in for a kiss.

Liberty's eyes fluttered open to see Parker standing by the door of her hospital room. She smiled at his dogged loyalty before closing her eyes and slipping back into sleep again.

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**A/N: Another chapter complete. As always, your opinions and thoughts mean the world to me, so feel free to speak them.**


	13. A Little Brooks

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Setup: James Stenbeck, the greatest ATWT villain, and Sheila Carter, the greatest villain on B&B and Y&R, are still alive and are plotting their revenge on their greatest enemies. And what better way to do than to kill them, cut them up, and turn them into pies? Okay, maybe it's not the best plan, but it's a lot of fun.**

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**Warning: This chapter carries some homophobic and slightly racist language, nothing to crass or graphic, but I think it works for James.**

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Sheila Carter bolted up the stairs of her bakery, hoping that James hadn't done something stupid. She opened the door to find Hank Eliot on the floor, his throat slit from ear-to-ear.

"What have you done?" she shouted, slapping him on the arm. "He didn't do anything to you and you just offed him like that."

James growled at Sheila's use of force on his arm, "He recognized me. I had to handle it."

"You can't just go around killing everyone who recognizes you," Sheila argued, grabbing Hank's body and dragging him over the trunk James had taken from Fairwinds after his last trip back to Oakdale.

"It doesn't matter," James said, running his bloody butcher knife under the sink. "He was just the entrée, Sheila, we still have Stephanie and Barbara to handle."

Sheila laughed sarcastically, "As much as I'd love to hear about how we're going to make those two suffer, we still have one small problem."

James turned to look at his accomplice, "And that is?" he asked, smiling wickedly.

"Him," Sheila said, "what are you going to do about him?"

James shrugged, "Later on, when it's dark, we'll dump the body somewhere else. And since he was one of…those people," James stated, dragging out the words "those people", "the police will think it was some group of rednecks."

"One of 'those people'?" Sheila asked, looking down at the body in her arms. "You're saying this cutie was a…"

"Almost turned my son into one," James remarked, standing up. "Get him into the trunk. We'll get rid of him later."

"I suppose we don't about one of them going missing," Sheila said, dumping Hank into the trunk. "I don't think he'll have any family poking around for…"

She paused for a moment, a smile forming on her face.

Sheila: **Well, you know me. Bright ideas keep popping into my head and I keep thinking…**

A sinister melody began to play Sheila started to sing.

Sheila: _**Seems a downright shame...**_

James: (quizzically.) **Shame?**

Sheila smiled wickedly.

Sheila: _**Seems an awful waste...**_

She ran her hands over her stomach, to indicate part of her plan.

Sheila: _**Such a nice, sweet frame what's 'is name has...**_

Sheila thought for a moment.

Sheila: _**Had...**_

She paused again before singing.

Sheila: _**Has! Nor it can't be traced...Bus'ness needs a lift, debts to be erased...Think of it as thrift, as a gift, if you get my drift! **_

James, who was in no mood for guessing games, waved her off.

Sheila: _**No?**_ _**Seems an awful waste...I mean, with the price of meat what it is, when you get it, if you get it...**_

James' eyes went wide before he smiled at Sheila.

James: **HAH!**

Sheila returned the smile at her accomplice.

Sheila: _**Good, you got it! Take, for instance, Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop! Bus'ness never better using only pussycats and toast! And a pussy's good for maybe six or seven at the most! And I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste!**_

James hopped to his feet, singing with Sheila, moving in closer to the younger woman.

James: Oh, _**Ms. Carter, what a charming notion**_

Sheila: _**Well, it does seem a waste...**_

The two circled each other, James grabbing Sheila's hand.

James: _**Eminently practical and yet appropriate as always!**_

Sheila: _**It's an idea...**_

Sheila pulled herself closer to James, her left hand running up his chest.

James: _**Oh,**_ _**Ms. Carter how I've lived without you all these years, I'll never know! How delectable! Also undetectable!**_

Sheila: _**Think about it! Lots of other gentlemen'll soon be comin' for a shave, won't they? Think of all them pies!**_

James: _**How choice! How rare! **_

He twirled Sheila away before singing alone.

James: _**For what's the sound of the world out there?**_

Sheila wrapped her arms around James, singing in his ear.

Sheila: _**What, Jimmy-dear? What, Jimmy-dear? What is that sound?**_

James: _**Those crunching noises pervading the air!**_

James spun Sheila around before pulling her back toward his chest.

Sheila: _**Yes, Jimmy-dear! Yes, Jimmy-dear! Yes, all around!**_

James: _**It's man devouring man, my dear!**_

James and Sheila: _**And**_[Sheila: _**Then**_] _**who are we to deny it in here?**_

The two laughed, what a perfect revenge plan. James pulled Sheila out of her smiling stupor.

James: **These are desperate times, Ms. Carter, and desperate measures are called for!**

Sheila grabbed a dish, waving it in James' face.

Sheila: **Here we are, now! Hot out of the oven!**

He grinned at her deviously before asking.

James: **What is that?**

A small laugh escaping her lips, Sheila sang.

Sheila: _**It's Brooks. Have a little Brooks.**_

James: (quizzically.) _**Is it really good?**_

Sheila: _**Sir, it's too good, at least! Then again, they doesn't commit sins of the flesh, so it's pretty fresh.**_

James: _**Awful lot of fat.**_

Sheila: _**Only where they sat.**_

James: _**Haven't you got Bardwell, or something like that?**_

Sheila: _**No, y'see, the trouble with Bardwell is how do you know it's deceased? Try some Brooks!**_

James pretended to take a bite of the "pie" and he shouted triumphantly.

James: **Heavenly! Not as hearty as Emily, perhaps, but then again, not as bland as Heather, either!**

Sheila: **And good for business, too - always leaves you wantin' more! Trouble is, I can't find them anywhere in Genoa City! **

The duo laughed, Sheila grabbing another "plate".

Sheila: _**Lawyer's rather nice.**_

James: (condescendingly.) _**If it's for a price.**_

Sheila: (shrugged.) _**Order something else, though, to follow, since no one should swallow it twice!**_

James: _**Anything that's lean.**_

She grabbed his shoulder, reminding him of his other enemies.

Sheila: _**Well, then, if you're historically loyal, you might enjoy Mont'gomery Supreme! Anyway, it's clean. Though of course, it tastes of wherever it's been!**_

James glided to the "oven".

James: _**Is that Snyder, on the fire?**_

Sheila: (shook her head.) _**Mercy no, sir, look closer, you'll notice it's Cabot!**_

James: _**Looks thicker, more like For'ester!**_

Sheila: _**No, it has to be Cabot –She's green!**_

James grabbed Sheila, the two waltzing across the room.

James: _**The history of the world, my love -**_

She nodded in agreement.

Sheila: _**Save a lot of graves, do a lot of relatives' favors!**_

He twirled her before pulling her body closer to his.

James: _**Is those below serving those up above!**_

Sheila licked her lips lustfully, allowing James to hold the lead.

Sheila: _**Ev'rybody shaves, so there should be plenty of flavors!**_

James: _**How gratifying for once to know**_

James let go of Sheila, smiling wickedly as she returned to the "oven".

James and Sheila: _**That those above will serve those down below!**_

Sheila then began to read off their collective list of enemies.

Sheila: **Now let's see, here... We've got Walsh.**

James shook his head.

James: **Something...less harsh**

Sheila: **Winters?**

He waved that suggestion off.

James: **Something…pinker.**

Sheila: **Spectra?**

James cringed at the thought of Sally.

James: **Someone…fresher**

Sheila: **Barber?**

James: **Something…subtler**

Sheila then randomly asked.

Sheila: **Locksmith? **

James turned and looked at his fellow mischief maker (Wow, if they're just mischief makers I'd hate to see the real criminals).

Sheila: _**Lovely bit of Clarke.**_

James: _**Maybe for a lark.**_

She offered him another "plate".

Sheila: _**Then again there's sweep if you want it cheap and you like it dark! Try the Chanc'ellor here, peak of his career!**_

James looked at it apprehensively.

James: _**That looks pretty rank.**_

Sheila nodded.

Sheila: _**Well, he drank, it's a bank cashier. Never really sold. Maybe it was old.**_

James' eyes lit up.

James: _**Have you any Dixon?**_

Sheila: _**Next week, so I'm told! Dixon isn't bad till you smell it and notice how well he's been greased...Stick to Brooks!**_

Sheila switched "plates" again.

Sheila: **Now then, this might be a little bit stringy, but then of course it's a... Stewart family special!**

James shook his head.

James: **No, this isn't Stewart Family - it's Snyder Family!**

Sheila looked again.

Sheila: **How can you tell?**

James: **You can hear the crust talking you to death!**

Sheila: **Then knock it out!**

James spun around the table, singing to Sheila.

James: _**The history of the world, my sweet -**_

She moved in closer to the table.

Sheila: _**Oh, Jimmy-dear, ooh, Jimmy-dear, what does it tell?**_

James nudged her.

James: _**Is who gets eaten, and who gets to eat!**_

Sheila: (adding her two cents.) _**And, Jimmy-dear, too, Jimmy-dear, who gets to sell!**_

James: _**But fortunately, it's also clear**_

James and Sheila: _**That**_ [Sheila: _**But**_] _**ev'rybody goes down well with beer!**_

Sheila returned to her "pies".

Sheila: **Since Montgomery doesn't appeal to you, how about... Newman?**

James waved off that recipe.

James: **Situation is far too hairy. I prefer Donovan.**

Sheila: **With, or without his sideburns? "With" is extra.**

Sheila chuckled before showing James another "pie".

James: **What is that?**

Sheila: _**It's Fen. Finest in the pen. And we have some Baldwin's pie peppered with actual Baldwin on top! And I've just begun –here's another Abbott, so oily it's served with a doily, have one!**_

James nodded.

James: _**Put it on a bun. **_(To Sheila's quizzical look.)_** Well, you never know if it's going to run!**_

Sheila: _**Try the Spencer, they're more dispenser!**_

James: _**No, the OCs are really too coarse and too mealy!**_

Sheila: _**Then Mayer, that's fair!**_

James: _**Yes, and always arrives in the dark! I'll come again when you have HUGHES on the menu!**_

He turned to leave, but Sheila quickly blocked James' exit, his knife in his hand.

Sheila: **Wait! True, we don't have Hughes yet, but we've got something you might fancy even better.**

James: **What's that?**

She handed him the knife.

Sheila: **Executioner!**

James smiled evilly, grabbing Sheila by her belt, pulling her closer and swaying to the music.

James: _**Have charity towards the world, my pet!**_

Sheila: _**Yes, yes, I know, my love!**_

The dance between became a little more sexualized.

James: _**We'll take the customers that we can get!**_

Sheila: _**High-born and low, my love!**_

James: _**We'll not discriminate great from small! No, we'll serve anyone, meaning anyone,**_

James and Sheila: _**And to anyone at all!**_

The two villains laughed at their plans as they prepared to unleash the greatest revenge scheme to ever hit Oakdale, Genoa City, or Los Angeles.

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**A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, I had a fun time writing it and it was really hard to write as well. There's just so much going on in the scene. I would suggest watching the Angela Lansbury-George Hearn production of Sweeney Todd on YouTube to see what the scene is supposed to look like.**


	14. It Couldn't Please Me More

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Setting: Oakdale, on the cusp of World War Two. Samuel is an elderly fruit vendor and Susan is a landlady in the boarding house where he lives. He has been trying to woo her from the day he entered the boarding house and, little by little, he has whittled away her defenses.**

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Susan Stewart opened her eyes and saw Samuel Spencer's smiling face. She looked down and her eyes widened in shock. Susan looked at Samuel and began to speak.

Susan: **Samuel. Can I believe what I see? But this is too much to accept. It's so rare... so costly... so luxurious...**

A small orchestra seemed to fill the air and Susan began to sing.

Susan: _**If you brought me diamonds, if you brought me pearls, if you brought me roses like some other gents might bring to other girls. **_

She stepped closer to him.

Susan: _**It couldn't please me more than the gift I see; a pineapple for me.**_

Samuel's legs began to move as he danced around Susan, the dance getting closer.

Samuel: _**If in your emotion you begin to sway, went to get some air, or grabbed a chair to keep from fainting dead away. **_

He put his hands on Susan's shoulders.

Samuel: _**It couldn't please me more than to see you cling to the pineapple I bring.**_

Samuel and Susan harmonized.

Susan and Samuel: _**Ah...**_

Susan added her two cents.

Susan: _**I can hear Hawaiian breezes blow**_

They harmonized again.

Susan and Samuel: _**Ah...**_

Samuel corrected her.

Samuel: _**It's from California**_

She smiled at that.

Susan: _**Even so. How am I to thank you?**_

He waved it off.

Samuel: _**Kindly let it pass,**_

She held up the pineapple.

Susan: _**Would you like a slice?**_

He politely sang.

Samuel: _**That might be nice, but frankly, it would give me gas.**_

Susan placed the pineapple on the plate on her table.

Susan: _**Then we shall leave it here, not to eat, but see:**_

They sang together.

Susan and Samuel: _**A pineapple...**_

Susan: _**For me.**_

Samuel: _**From me.**_

Susan and Samuel: _**Ah...**_

They stopped harmonizing, Samuel offering his hand to Susan, which she took. The two danced carefully in the sitting room of her apartment. Susan realized how much fun she was having as she quickly pushed him away.

Susan: (fixes her hair.) **But you must not bring me any more pineapples. Do you hear? It is not proper. It is a gift a young man would bring to his lady-love. It makes me blush.**

Samuel tried to take her hand again, which she quickly pulled away. He straightened up and said.

Samuel: **But there is no-one... no-one in all of Oakdale who is more deserving. If I could, I would fill your entire room with pineapples!**

He began to sing again.

Samuel: _**A pineapple for you!**_

She replied.

Susan: _**From you.**_

The two began to harmonize again, this time with the voice of Soulless Warlock filling the air as well.

Susan, Samuel and Soulless Warlock: _**Ah...Ah...**_

Susan stepped back, her hand on her bedroom door.

Susan: **I think I will lie down for a few moments. My head is spinning!**

Samuel quickly called out.

Samuel: **Susan! **

He kissed her on the cheek.

Samuel: **Good evening.**

He turned to leave, taking his hat and coat, smiling as she said.

Susan: **Good evening, Samuel. I am... overwhelmed!**

Susan heard the door close, as she smiled, feeling like a school girl for the first time in years.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little story. **


	15. Travelin' Thru

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Setting: Shortly after Cyndi Lauper finishes singing "True Colors" at the Pride Festival.**

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Noah darted onto the stage, motioning for The Band to join him on the stage. The musical quintet followed him with him. Noah got the crowd's attention by causing the mike to screech, the audience groaning in pain as they turned to go after their attacker.

"Hey, everyone," Noah said. "Figured that was the best way to get your attention."

The crowd groaned even more.

"I just wanted to thank all of you for coming out here today," he continued, "and I wanted to thank Miss Lauper for her lovely performance," he said, nodding to Miss Lauper. "I wanted to close this thing out with a song as well. I think it's the perfect song to describe all of us."

He turned back to The Band, signaling them to begin. A country-like melody began to feel the campus green, Noah swaying to the sound as Carmen and Maggie hummed a few bars. Noah stepped in front of the mike, corrected it, and began to sing.

Noah: _**Well, I can't tell you where I'm going, I'm not sure of where I've been, but I know I must keep travelin' till my road comes to an end. **_

Luke turned to Seth, who shrugged at his cousin's actions. Noah, meanwhile, continued to sing.

Noah: _**I'm out here on my journey, trying to make the most of it. I'm a puzzle, I must figure out where all my pieces fit.**_

He pulled the mike off of its stand and began to move around the stage, singing out.

Noah: _**Like a poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song, I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find what feels like home. Where that is no one can tell me, am I doomed to ever roam? I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin'; I'm just travelin' on… **_

"Luke," Seth said, as Noah continued, "what is he doing?"

"I have no idea," Luke responded, "I think he's pulling a move out of your playbook."

Noah: _**Questions I have many, answers but a few, but we're here to learn, the spirit burns to know the greater truth. **_

Noah turned his attention to Luke, smiling at him.

Noah: _**We've all been crucified, and they nailed Jesus to the tree, and when I'm born again you're gonna see a change in me.**_

He plopped down on the stage, his legs swinging off the edge.

Noah: _**God made me for a reason and nothing is in vain, redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain.**_

Noah hopped off the stage, moving closer to Luke, who was smiling brightly at his boyfriend.

Noah: _**Oh sweet Luci'ano, if you're listening, keep me ever close to you as I'm stumblin', tumblin', wonderin', as I'm travelin' thru… **_

He offered his hand to Luke, who quickly took it. Noah disposed of the microphone by tossing it to Seth, who shrugged and began to sing.

Seth: _**I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin'; I'm just travelin' thru…**_

Noah and Luke danced alone, Luke singing in Noah's ear.

Luke: _**I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin'; I'm just travelin' thru… **_

Seth turned his attention to the camera crew, snapping his fingers for them to get this shot. He then looked at the protesters, who were locked out of the green. Seth sang on in place of his cousin.

Seth: _**Oh sometimes the road is rugged, and it's hard to travel on, but holdin' to each other, we don't have to walk alone. When everything is broken, we can mend it if we try. We can make a world of difference; if we want to we can fly. **_

He tossed the mike to Noah, who caught and sang.

Noah: _**Goodbye little children, goodnight you handsome men, farewell to all you ladies, and to all who knew me when. And I hope I'll see you down the road, you meant more than I knew as I was travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin', travelin' thru…**_

Noah, followed by Luke and Seth, raced back onto the stage, the attendees clapping to the tune of the music. Noah led them all.

Noah and the Attendees: _**I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin'…**_

Seth took another solo.

Seth: _**Drifting like a floating boat and roaming like the wind, oh give me some direction. **_

Luke joined in.

Luke: _**Lord, let me lean on you as I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', thru… **_

The happy couple and the one straight guy (that isn't in The Band) in attendance bid the group to join in.

Attendees: _**I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru…I'm just travelin', travelin', travelin', I'm just travelin' thru…**_

The celebration was soon cut off as Cyndi hopped to her feet and sang, getting a huge ovation.

Cyndi Lauper: _**Like the poor wayfaring stranger that they speak about in song, I'm just a weary pilgrim trying to find my own way home.**_

The crowd settled as Noah closed the song.

Noah: _**Oh sweet Jesus if you're out there, keep me ever close to you as I'm travelin', travelin', travelin', as I'm travelin' thru…**_

With that, all the people clapped and danced with the melody, the festivities uninterrupted by protesters and the world, for a moment, not questioning how love actually works. It was just going with the flow.

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**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the rare burst of happy Nuke that I seem to trot out every so often.**


	16. I Go To Extremes

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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"And for our next act," Don O'Dell announced, "we have Casey Hughes and his brother, Adam Hughes-Munson, performing Billy Joel's "I Go to Extreme"."

Adam and Casey darted onto the stage, Adam quickly manning the keyboard, Casey at the mike. There's pseudo-poetry reference in that one, I'll let you figure that one out on your own.

Adam began to play, getting an overly enthusiastic cheer from their mother, Margo Hughes. Casey laughed as his mother sat down, her face red while the rest of the family laughed good-naturedly at her "outburst".

Casey tapped to the beat of the music, winking at Alison, who was all smiles at her boyfriend's little dance routine as he counted the beats leading into the song. Casey skillfully pulled the microphone to his lips, singing.

Casey: _**Call me a joker, call me a fool, right at this moment I'm totally cool. Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife, I feel like I'm in the prime of my life. **_

He dropped the mike down, lowering his head with it, singing into it like Elvis.

Casey: _**Sometimes it feels like I'm going too fast, I don't know how long this feeling will last, maybe it's only tonight.**_

Casey sprang up to a more vertical position, singing out, getting a burst of applause from his family.

Casey: _**Darling I don't know why I got to extremes, too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens. And if I stand or I fall, it's all or nothing at all. Darling I don't know why I got to extremes!**_

Pulling the mike off of the stand, Casey began to move more fluidly around the stage.

Casey: _**Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I'm shot, sometimes I don't know how much more I've got. Maybe I'm headed over the hill, maybe I've set myself up for the kill.**_

He dropped to his knees, landing in front of Alison, who, jokingly (sorta), began acting like a love struck fan girl.

Casey: _**Tell me how much do you think you can take until the heart in you is starting to break? Sometimes it feels like it will.**_

Adam rolled his eyes at his little brother's antics before gliding his fingers across the keyboard when he caught sight the only girl he was trying to impress: Abigail Williams, who was clapping along to Casey's voice.

Casey: _**Darling I don't know why I go to extremes, too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens. You can be sure when I'm gone I won't be out there too long. Darling I don't know why I got to extremes! **_

Casey jumped off of the stage, racing around the room like a madman, singing as he did.

Casey: _**Out of the darkness, into the light, leaving the scene of the crime, either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right every time. Sometimes I lie awake, night after night, coming apart at the seams. Eager to please, ready to fight, why do I go to extremes?**_

Adam and his keyboard were joined by an intervening Daniel Hughes, who had grabbed his oldest brother's guitar, this got a round of applause from his grandparents and parents. Casey joined his brothers, ruffling the youngest one's hair.

Casey: _**And if I stand or I fall it's all or nothing at all…**_

Casey started dancing again, getting a more solid clap-along from the audience.

**Casey: **_**Darling I don't know why I go to extremes, too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens. And if I stand of I fall, it's all or nothing at all. Darling I don't know why I go to extremes!**_

Adam switched the setting from electric to classic piano, playing better than the most seasoned jazz pianist, while his brother sang.

Casey: _**No I don't know why I go to extremes, too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens. You can be sure when I'm gone, I won't be out there too long. Darling I don't know why I go to extremes!**_

The scene faded out as Tom turned to Margo and said, "And you thought your mom's genes were just passed to Adam."

"Shut up," she chided him good-naturedly as they watched their three boys steal the show at another talent night at _In the Heights_.

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**A/N: Once again, I know Adam isn't really Tom's and Daniel isn't really Margo's, but love make a family not blood. At least that what I was always raised to believe.**


	17. Hello, Sethy

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Scene: After a near four year ban at the Lakeview, Seth is finally allowed back into the building he once considered his playground, and Lily and Samuel are preparing a return fit for Dolly Levi from **_**Hello, Dolly!**_** That kind of return requires dancing staff, a big band, and a special guest star (whom I do not own). So, let the return number commence!**

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The staff of the Lakeview filled the giant staircase built specifically for this event. They were waiting for Seth to enter. And enter he did, dressed in a bright red suit with yellow trim, the rhinestones in the trim shining in the chandelier. He smiled at the crowd, who, in his mind's eye, were like the crowd used in the _Freakazoid_ number, _Bon Jour, Lobey_. Seth reached behind his back and magically pulled out a hat from behind his back and placed it on his head.

He began to walk slowly down the steps, the audience applauding as he did. The big band on the opposite side of the ballroom played a triumphant tune that followed him down the stairs. Seth smiled at the staff, looking around and recognizing most of their face.

He took a breath and began to sing, enunciating every word, singing to one of the waitresses.

Seth: _**Hello, Ruby! **_

He turned to another.

Seth: _**Well, hello, Mary! It's so nice to be back home where I belong. **_

Seth turned to two more of the staff members, smiling at one flirtatiously.

Seth: _**You are looking swell, Janey. I can tell, Dani, you're still glowin, you're still crowin, you're still goin strong.**_

Seth began to sway with the music, the staff members swaying with him.

Seth: _**I feel the room swayin, for the bands playin one of my old fav'rite songs from way back when. **_

He took the hand of one of waitresses, kicking his leg up, another one catching it. Seth spun like he was on a pivot.

Seth: _**So, bridge that gap, ladies, find me an empty lap, ladies. **_

On those words, he landed in the lap of a chef.

Seth: _**Sethy'll never go away again!**_

The Lakeview staff began to dance around Seth (Lily and Samuel made sure they were trained in, at least, three forms of dance if they wanted to sing).

Lakeview Staff: _**Hello, Sethy, well hello, Sethy, it's so nice to have you back where you belong. **_

Seth raced up the stairs, the staff following him as he did. They sang along as he swayed and moved, so happy he chose to wear closed string dress shoes on this night.

Lakeview Staff: _**You're looking swell, Sethy, we can tell, Sethy, you're still glowin, you're still crowin, you're still goin strong.**_

They stopped at the center spot on the opposite side of the steps.

Lakeview Staff: _**We feel the room swayin, for the bands playin one of your old fav'rite songs from way back when, so...**_

Seth removed his hat.

Seth: _**Here's my hat, ladies, I'm stayin where I'm at, ladies…**_

He threw the hat, accidentally hitting Noah in the face. He cringed at his actions, before snapping his fingers and the music continued.

Lakeview Staff: _**Promise you'll never go away again!**_

Seth placed his hand on the firemen's pole (they went all out for this), pulling himself closer, singing out like Don Quixote.

Seth: _**I went away from the lights of the Lakeview and into my personal haze.**_

He pressed his foot against pole, a smile on his face.

Seth: _**But now that I'm back in the lights of Lakeview, tomorrow will be brighter than the good old days!**_

The staff (mostly the girls) closed in around Seth.

Lakeview Staff: _**Those good old days!**_

He smiled and sang.

Seth: _**Tell 'em to be sweet!**_

Seth hooked the firemen's pole and slid down to the floor where he was met by a series of waiters and the matire'd.

Waiters: _**Hello, well hello Sethy! Well hello, hey look there's Sethy!**_

He turned to Hank, the matire'd.

Seth: _**Glad to see you, Hank, lets thank my lucky star!**_

Waiters: _**Your lucky star!**_

He turned to another, more portly, waiter.

Seth: _**You're lookin great, Stanley. Lose some weight, I think, I think you did, Stanley? Sethy's overjoyed and overwhelmed and over par.**_

The waitresses joined their cohorts and Seth, dancing with the eccentric young man.

Lakeview Staff: _**I hear the ice tinkle…**_

Seth: _**Do you hear the ice tinkle?**_

Lakeview Staff: _**See the lights twinkle…**_

Seth: _**Can you see the lights twinkle?**_

The girls circled him again.

Lakeview Staff: _**And you still get glances from us lovely gals...**_

He smiled at the girls, his hand brushing against her face.

Seth: _**Look at you all, you're all so lovely. Golly gee, ladies, find me a vacant knee, ladies.**_

He hopped into one very stout girl's lap.

Seth and the Lakeview Staff: _**Sethy'll never go away again!**_

The group began dancing around the room, moving closer to the band playing the music they were singing with. The band director turned to see Seth. It was standard performer Michael Buble, one of Seth's heroes.

Michael Buble: _**Well, hello…**_

Seth's inner fanboy almost creamed his pants as he raced over to Michael.

Seth: (screams.) _**Look who's here!**_

Michael: _**Sethy, this is Michael…**_

He waved stupidly at Michael, who laughed at the younger man's antics.

Seth: _**Hello, Michael!**_

Michael: _**Sethy, it's so nice to have you back where you belong.**_

Seth shrugged at Michael's comment.

Seth: _**I am so glad to be back!**_

Michael stepped off of the conductor's box.

Michael: _**Are you lookin swell…**_

Seth:_** Thank you, Michael!**_

Michael: _**Sethy! I can tell…**_

Seth: _**Does it show?**_

Michael: _**Sethy! You're still glowin, you're still crowin, you're still…**_

Seth's voice almost cracked as he sang with Michael.

Michael and Seth: _**Uhm...goin strong!**_

Michael: _**I feel the room swayin…**_

As Michael sang, leading Seth across the room, Seth showed Michael he wasn't the only white boy who could scat.

Seth: _**Pee pee pah dah pee pah…**_

Michael: _**And the band's playin…**_

Seth: _**Pah pah pah dee pah dee pah pah…**_

Michael: _**One of our old favorite songs from way back when, so!**_

Seth: _**Pah pah pah pah pah pah pah. I remember it so, you're my favorite!**_

He snapped his fingers, the women reappearing at Seth's side.

Michael: _**Show some snap, ladies, find him an empty lap, yeah!**_

Seth: _**Yeahuuhm!**_

The two sang out.

Michael and Seth: _**Sethy'll never go away again!**_

Michael returned to conducting the band as the dance began again, Seth taking center stage while the staff danced with him.

Lakeview Staff: _**Well, well hello, Sethy, well, hello, Sethy. It's so nice to have you back where you belong.**_

The group landed by the staircase again, the staff singing to an energized Seth.

Lakeview Staff: _**You're looking swell, Sethy…**_

He leapt into the air, landing safely on the center of the staircase landing.

Seth: _**Wow!**_

The Lakeview staff joined him, serenading him as they did.

Lakeview Staff: _**We can tell, Sethy…**_

Seth: _**Wow!**_

The band shifted formation, taking them back to the refrain for one more run.

Lakeview Staff: _**You're still glowin, you're still crowin, you're still goin strong! I hear the ice tinkle…**_

Seth belted out.

Seth: _**I hear it tinkle!**_

Lakeview Staff: _**See the lights twinkle!**_

He repeated his first belt.

Seth: _**I see them twinkle!**_

Lakeview Staff: _**And you still get glances from us lovely gals, so...**_

The drumsticks slammed down as he sang.

Seth: _**Mmmm, wow, wow, wow, ladies!**_

Lakeview Staff: _**Hey, yeah!**_

His infectious smile filled the room.

Seth: _**Look at the old boy now, ladies!**_

Lakeview Staff: _**Wow!**_

The finish built toward its crescendo as they all sang.

Seth & Lakeview Staff: _**Sethy'll never go away again…Sethy'll never go away…Sethy'll never go away again!**_

Noah, meanwhile, had recovered, grabbing his uncle by the shoulder. "You do realize I'm just the first victim?"

Samuel groaned as he realized what he had unleashed on the Lakeview once again.

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**A/N: This chapter was the most fun to write, namely because I can see Seth doing this, and, I think I could get away with this if I was a writer on the show because Christopher Goutzman seems to love the classics.**


	18. Sooner or Later

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Scene: Another glimpse into **_**In the Heights**_** theme nights. Alison and Maddie have a big surprise by for Casey and Maddie respectively.**

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Casey Hughes kicked open the front door of the _In the Heights_ club, trying his best to literally shake Seth Spencer off of his back.

"Somebody," he shouted, failing to get the attention of the patrons, "get him off of me."

"You owe me a piggy-back ride," Seth shouted in Casey's ear. "I won the bet, you owe…"

Seth was cut off by Casey, who reached over his shoulders, hooking Seth by his belt and flipping him onto the floor.

"And I gave you the ride," Casey growled. "Now stay off of my back."

Seth sat up. "Sounds like someone didn't get any last night."

"Kiss my ass, Seth." Casey said, crossing over to the bar.

"It's a known fact that you're cranky when you haven't had it in a while," Seth rambled on. "I use to be the same way, but then I got into the Tantric arts and…"

"Seth!" Casey exclaimed. "I don't want to hear about your sex practices."

"Hey, I had to you play Captain Horny McHornysen until you hooked up with Ali," Seth argued back. "Which you never thanked me for, by the way."

"What?" Casey said, unsure of what to say to his friend.

"Hey there, boys," the gruff, but comforting voice of Don O'Dell called out from the end of the bar. "How's it goin'?"

"Great, actually," Seth replied. "But, I've been trying to reach Maddie for hours and she hasn't picked up."

Casey turned back to the bar. "Yeah, same with Ali. She hasn't picked up since I talked to her at lunchtime."

"Hmm," was O'Dell's only response as seemed to be lost in a thought. "Well, boys," he finally said, "I don't know what to tell you expect turn around."

The spotlights in the back of the club turned on and the stage was bathed in light. Casey and Seth turned around as Drew Snyder (no relation to the other Snyders) began to play the nearby piano. The boys were soon treated to a rather lovely surprise. Maddie and Alison had risen from the floor, Maddie in a strapless pink dress, decked out in Marilyn Monroe white gloves and a faux-mink stole slung over her shoulders while Alison was wearing red strapless dress that accentuated her breasts, complete with gloves and stole similar to Maddie's.

The girls did a sultry dance across the stage as Carmen Mendoza began to play the trumpet, matching up with Drew's quickly-paced piano chimes. Alison grabbed the glove on her right hand while Maddie took the glove on her own left hand, they skinned out of the gloves, letting it fall to the ground with a grace and precision that should be illegal.

Alison and Maddie crisscrossed the stage, stopping at the two microphone stands that O'Dell had set up at the edge of the stage. They turned their backs to the audience, who were just as enthralled as Casey and Seth.

The girls dropped their stoles to the ground before reaching around their backs, grabbing their respective microphones, spinning around to face the audience. They both had a look on their faces that screamed, "Hey, boys, this is for you."

Alison grabbed the mike in her gloveless hand and began to sing.

Alison: _**Sooner or later you're gonna be mine, **_

Maddie followed suit.

Maddie: _**Sooner or later you're gonna be fine. **_

Alison placed her hand on Maddie's shoulders, looking over at Casey.

Alison: _**Baby, it's time that you face it, I always get my man.**_

The girls crisscrossed each other again, thrusting their hips to the beat of the music.

Maddie: _**Sooner or later you're gonna decide, **_

Alison beckoned for Casey to come closer to the stage.

Alison: _**Sooner or later there's nowhere to hide. **_

Maddie stopped center-stage, singing out.

Maddie: _**Baby, it's time, so why waste it in chatter? **_

Alison sang to Casey, who was now at the foot of the stage, her gloved hand grabbing his collar.

Alison: _**Let's settle the matter. **_

She threw Casey back into an empty chair, singing with Maddie.

Alison and Maddie: _**Baby, you're mine on a platter, I always get my man.**_

The music changed pace, as Maddie dropped to her stomach, getting in Seth's face.

Maddie: _**But if you insist, babe, the challenge delights me. **_

Ali hopped off of the stage, kicking her leg over Casey's, who's eyes to nearly bug out, landing on his lap.

Alison: _**The more you resist, babe, the more it excites me.**_

Maddie kissed Seth on the cheek and he responded accordingly, falling face-first on the stage.

Maddie: _**And no one I've kissed, babe, ever fights me again!**_

Alison hopped off of Casey's lap.

Alison: _**Again!**_

She was joined off stage by Maddie, who followed her vocal choice.

Maddie: _**Again!**_

The crowd went wild as Maddie sang with picture perfect precision.

Maddie: _**If you're on my list, it's just a question of when.**_

She took a breath before singing with Alison.

Alison and Maddie: _**When I get a yen, then baby, Amen. I'm counting to ten, and then!**_

The girls held that note for ten seconds as the crowd went wild again. Maddie caught her breath before speaking again, in a lusty voice.

Maddie: **A girl can awfully…awful in this spotlight…**

Seth groaned at those words before she started singing again.

Maddie: _**I'm gonna love you like nothing you've known...**_

Alison climbed back onto the steps.

Alison: _**I'm gonna love you and you all alone. **_

Maddie did the same on the opposite side of the stage, belting out.

Maddie: _**Sooner is better than later but lover,**_

Alison grabbed their stoles, tossing the second one to Maddie.

Alison: _**I'll hover,**_

Maddie caught the stole.

Maddie: _**I'll plan.**_

Alison slung the stole over her shoulder.

Alison: _**This time I'm not only getting, I'm holding my man… **_

The girls swung their stoles to the ground, singing with fervor.

Alison and Maddie: _**This time I'm not only getting, I'm hugging and squeezing, and pinning…**_

Maddie shouted out.

Maddie: _**Talk to me, General Schrwatzcoff…**_

Seth started to blush as Alison sang.

Alison: _**Tell me all about it! **_

The girls hit the big finale.

Alison and Maddie: _**This time I'm not only getting, I'm holding… **_

They flung their stoles out, successfully wrapping them around the boys' necks, pulling them toward the stage, Alison kissing Casey while Maddie kissed Seth. The kisses ended and the girls sang just too them.

Alison and Maddie: _**My man!**_

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**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this installment of **_**As the World Sings**_**. Stay tuned for the next installment when I can write it.**


	19. My Funny Friend and Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Scene: Seth is performing at Yangzhou Festival, a festival to celebrate eccentrics and their little quirks. He's invited his friends, but so far none of them have shown up.**

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Seth walked onto the stage, taking a seat at the piano. He craned the microphone closer to his lips.

"I wanted to sing this song with my best friend," he began. "Unfortunately, he had other matters to deal with."

Seth paused for a moment, his fingers on the piano keys.

"To be honest," he blurted out, "he had fix his relationship," he said, mockingly.

This got a chorus of boos from Seth's peers.

"When will our friends learn," Seth shouted, hopping back to his feet. "It's bros before…" he paused to think about his next statement, "bros?"

Seth sat back at the piano, his fingers gliding across the keys before The Band joined him again. He readjusted the microphone, before he started to sing in a slow, somber voice.

Seth: _**In the quiet time of evening, when the stars assume their patterns, and the day has made his journey, and we wondered just what happened…**_

A smile formed on Seth's face as he continued to sing.

Seth: _**To the life we knew before the world changed, when not a thing I held was true, but you were kind to me and you reminded me.**_

Seth ran his fingers across the piano keys, singing as he did.

Seth: _**That the world is not my playground, there are other things that matter, and what is simple needs protecting, my illusions all would shatter.**_

What Seth didn't see was that Luke had actually shown up, moving silently through the crowd while the others were distracted by their singing peer.

Seth: _**But you stayed in my corner, the only world I know was upside down, and now the world and me, I know you carry me.**_

Luke darted up the stairs, hoping he could time this right. Seth had his back to the stairs by the time Luke stepped onto the stage. The singing eccentric almost jumped out of his seat when he heard a familiar voice sing out.

Luke: _**You see the patterns in the big sky, **_

Seth turned and almost fell over, catching himself before he began to sing again.

Seth: _**Those constellations look like you and I. **_

Luke smiled at his friend, singing to him.

Luke: _**Just like the patterns in the big sky, **_

Seth offered a spot in his chair to Luke, who started to walk toward him as Seth sang.

Seth: _**We could be lost, we could refuse to try…**_

Luke sat down next to Seth, giving him the chance to take the mike off of its stand and sing to the audience, while Luke took over the piano duties.

Seth: _**But we made it through, in the dark night, would those lucky guys turn out to be but that unusual blend of my funny friend and me.**_

Seth high-fived Luke, setting up the microphone Luke had brought onstage before he sang.

Seth: _**I'm not as clever as I thought I was, **_

Luke showed as much skill on the piano as Seth had earlier. Thank you very much, Grandma Emma.

Luke: _**I'm not the boy I used to be because **_

Seth nodded, a Cheshire cat smile on his face.

Seth: _**You showed me something different, you showed me something pure,**_

Luke turned the music book, playing from memory before seeing the next notes.

Luke: _**I always seemed so certain but I was really never sure.**_

The two friends sang together, Seth taking a seat on the piano.

Seth and Luke: _**But you stayed, and you called my name when others would have walked out on a lousy game. And you could've made it through, but your funny friend and me.**_

Seth hopped onto the piano, pointing to the sky.

Seth: _**You see the patterns in the big sky, **_

Luke looked to where Seth was pointing, there were no stars. Hell, it wasn't even night, but it was the thought that counted.

Luke: _**Those constellations look like you and I. **_

Seth glided across the piano, miraculously retaining his balance.

Seth: _**That tiny planet in a bigger guy, **_

Luke stood up, moving the mike as he did.

Luke: _**I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. **_

The two were given a brief rest when The Band appeared on stage and sang, almost knocking Seth off of the piano.

The Band: _**Just like the patterns in the big sky, **_

Luke grabbed the mike and joined Seth on the piano.

Seth and Luke: _**We'll be together till the end is nigh. **_

The Band stayed stationary while they sang.

The Band: _**Don't know the answer or the reason why, **_

The two linked hands, singing into the other's microphone.

Seth and Luke: _**We'll stick together till the day we die.**_

Seth let go of Luke and gave him his own personal message.

Seth: _**If I had to do this all a second time, I won't complain or make a fuss. **_

Luke nodded accepting the apology of Seth calling him a "self-righteous turd-burglar".

Luke: _**When the angels sing that that unlikely blend are those two funny friends, **_

And he, with those words, apologized to Seth for calling him an "air-headed Donny Osmond clone".

Seth and Luke: _**That's us.**_

On those words the two best friends shared a hug, much to the delight of the crowd, a good portion of them even let out a collective, "Awww!"

"Are they supposed to do that?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, sorta," was Seth's response. "Those are people who are hired to watch the "very special episodes" of popular television shows."

"You mean people are actually pay to do that?"

"Do you know anyone in their right mind who would watch _Full House_ or _Blossom_?"

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**A/N: Damn, that last joke was kind of mean. I'm sorry, I don't know where it came from. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for not updating sooner. Christmas and the like, you know the grind?**


	20. Dancing in the Dark

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Scene: Just when I thought I was shooting pork in the sea with this scene, ATWT tosses me this little pork chop. Hunter is actually a pianist and composer. His reaction to Maddie trying to show his music to music hotshots reminds me of The Boss' reaction to another music exec trying to make him write crappy music. He wrote this little ditty as a response. At least, that's what my internets told me.**

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**A/N: Seth is absent from this scene. In this scene, he and Lucy became a couple and have gone to Africa during the whole human trafficking/gun-running storyline so that leaves Hunter and Maddie to be together. (Alternate reality to my alternate reality. You gotta cover your bases sometimes)**

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Hunter crossed onto the stage of the In the Heights club. He couldn't believe Maddie had talked him into this. That, along with Casey and Alison's constant prodding, had gotten him here in the first place. Hunter stepped closer to the microphone, knowing that if he took off his jacket, he would reveal two massive pit-stains from how hard he was sweating.

The music began to play from the karaoke machine, his foot subconsciously tapping on the stage. He knew this song, it was the song of one of his favorite musicians that was still alive. Hunter began to sing, his deep voice playing to the music of Springsteen.

Hunter: _**I get up in the evening and I ain't got nothing to say. I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way. **_

Hunter's thick eyebrows danced around on his forehead, matching the movements with his feet as he smiled at Maddie.

Hunter: _**I ain't nothing but tired, man, I'm just tired and bored with myself. Hey there baby, I could use just a little help.**_

He stopped mid-movement, singing with gusto.

Hunter: _**You can't start a fire; you can't start a fire without a spark. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark. **_

Hunter removed the mike from its stand, singing to the crowd.

Hunter: _**Message keeps getting clearer, radio's on and I'm moving 'round the place. I check my look in the mirror; I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face.**_

He walked toward the edge of the stage.

Hunter: _**Man I ain't getting nowhere; I'm just living in a dump like this. There's something happening somewhere, baby I just know that there is. **_

He looked over at Maddie, a Cheshire cat like smile on both of their faces.

Hunter: _**You can't start a fire; you can't start a fire without a spark. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark.**_

A guitar solo briefly filled the club, Hunter jumping down from the stage, singing out.

Hunter: _**You sit around getting older there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me. I'll shake this world off my shoulders; come on, baby, this laugh's on me.**_

Hunter spun into Maddie's line of vision, singing directly to her.

Hunter: _**Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright. They say you gotta stay hungry, hey baby, I'm just about starving tonight.**_

He grabbed her, pulling her out of her chair.

Hunter: _**I'm dying for some action, I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write this book.**_

Hunter laid a sloppy kiss on her lips.

Hunter:_** I need a love reaction, come on now, baby, gimme just one look.**_

Hunter darted back onto the stage.

Hunter: _**You can't start a fire sitting 'round crying over a broken heart. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark.**_

He turned back to Maddie, singing to her again.

Hunter: _**You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark.**_

The music faded out, as Hunter sang along with the music.

Hunter: _**Even if we're just dancing in the dark…Even if we're just dancing in the dark…Even if we're just dancing in the dark…Hey baby…**_

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Only a few minutes later, Hunter was outside of the club, not sure if he should go back inside.

"I'm probably better off leaving," he murmured to himself, heading for his car.

He opened the door and sat down in the driver seat, trying to get his car started. He caught a glimpse of a figure in the backseat out of the corner of his eye. Hunter whipped his head around and saw Maddie sitting in the back.

He quickly averted his eyes when he realized that she had peeled off her dress and she was almost completely naked.

"Nice little move in there," she said, a seductive smile on her face.

"What're you doing?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"Nothing," she replied innocently.

"Doesn't look like you're doing…" Hunter said, Maddie's hand sliding into his shirt, "it looks like you're na…"

"And you're not na…" Maddie whispered in his ear.

Hunter sputtered for words before he turned into a kiss from the girl of his dreams. He hopped into the backseat of the car, hoping the tinted windows would keep the voyeurs away.

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**A/N: Another fun scene completed. I had to have one of the girls pull a Brooke Davis. I think it has something to do with my unhealthy obsession with Sophia Bush. I've also pictured Maddie as having an inner freak. Oh boy, my Alexandra Chando obsession is showing. I'm gonna stop talking before I incriminate myself in some peeping tom event that I wasn't involved in…**


	21. Rainbow Connection

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Adam Hughes Munson sat by Raven Lake, his guitar resting in his lap. He strummed on the cords, humming along with the music he was creating. Well, maybe he didn't create it, but he was creating the sound coming from the guitar and that always counts for something.

He looked up at the formerly rain-soaked sky, a rainbow shining in the sky. Adam smiled, for the first time in years, he was at peace. He began to play a new tune, humming to it before he began to sing.

Adam: _**Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? **_

He strummed to the tune.

Adam: _**Rainbows are visions, they're only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide.**_

Adam stood up, not noticing that his voice had been heard by someone else.

Adam: _**So we've been told and some chose to believe it, but I know they're wrong wait and see…**_

The figure moved closer to Adam, who was still oblivious to the footsteps behind him.

Adam: _**Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.**_

He turned around, but the figure had taken cover behind a tree, as he sang.

Adam: _**Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that and someone believed it and look what it's done so far.**_

As he turned around, the figure stood back up.

Adam: _**What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing what so we think we might see…Someday we'll find it, that Rainbow Connection, the lovers the dreamers and me.**_

He strummed on the guitar with a little more enthusiasm.

Adam: _**All of us under its spell, we know that it's probably magic…**_

Adam sang out merrily.

Adam: _**Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Are these the sweet sounds that called the young sailors? I think they're one and the same.**_

Adam moved closer to the lake, singing as he did.

Adam: _**I've heard it too many times to ignore it, there's something that I'm supposed to be…Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.**_

He finished the final cords of the song, harmonizing with the music.

"Not bad," he heard the figure call out.

This caused him to trip over his feet and took a face-first plunge into Raven Lake. Adam pulled himself up, turning his head around to see who the cause of his faux pas was, who was laughing hysterically at Adam's plight.

"Sorry about that, Munson," the voice of Jade Taylor called out in between laughs.

She stepped out behind the tree, as he scowled at her, and walked over to the shore.

"C'mon, lemme help ya' out," she said, extending her hand.

Adam chuckled at the gesture, taking her hand, and, without warning, yanked her into the water. She splashed him in the face after he recovered, beginning a splash fight between the former lovers.

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**A/N: Another chapter and song done. I have to say this one isn't as good as the others but I haven't really written for Adam or Jade, so for those who find something wrong with them, please tell me.**


	22. I Could've Danced All Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**A/N: I'd like to thank Nukeluvr318 for giving me the idea for this scene. I decided that I would give Emma her own chapter, involving her granddaughters and her family prior to meeting Harvey, which I had to invent myself.**

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Emma Snyder raced up to her granddaughters' bedroom. Faith was going on her first date and how could anyone consider her a decent grandmother if she didn't make a fuss over it. She opened the door of the room, watching as Lily did her oldest daughter's hair. Faith looked radiant in the lights of her vanity mirror.

"Oh, my goodness," Emma squealed, darting out from behind the door, "you look beautiful, sweetheart."

"Grandma," Faith groaned, her face turning beet red. "At least you didn't bring the camera."

Emma looked at Lily, the two older women smiling devilishly.

"That completely slipped my mind," Emma said. "Lily, could you be a dear and get it for me."

"No," Faith shouted, grabbing her mother's arm. "Mom, if you love me, you'll forget about that camera."

"I'll be right back," Lily countered, not missing a beat.

Lily exited the room, leaving Faith, Natalie, and Emma alone.

"I can't believe this is your first date," Emma beamed. "It won't be long before you start chasing after boys," she said, pointing to Natalie.

"Yeah right," Natalie muttered. "Boys suck."

Emma pursed her lips together, "You know, I use to think that about all boys too," she said, a smile forming on her face. "Then I met your grandfather."

Those words got Faith's attention. "What was Grandpa Harvey like?"

"Your father never told you about him?" Emma asked, almost shocked at the question.

"Only when from when Dad was a little kid," Faith answered. "He told us about him when he was young."

"That's because your father has a hard time accepting that his parents were once young," Emma said, getting a laugh from the girls. "Your grandfather was very smart, very dapper, and very handsome. I remember when I first realized I was in love with him…"

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This faded into a flashback; a younger, thinner Emma entered her family's home, a smile on her face that could light up Time Square.

"Look who's home," Alma Pearce, her baby sister, said, swinging her legs off of the foot rest by her favorite chair.

"About time you got back here," Eleanor, her older sister, added. "You almost missed curfew."

Emma ignored the chiding as she sailed across the room, practically floating on pure happy dust.

"Ellie, Alma," she said, "I think I've met 'the one'."

"'The one'?" a voice called out.

The girls looked up to see their mother, Natalie Pearce, standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Yes, Mom," Emma said, gliding over to her mother. "Harvey Snyder. He's the most incredible man I've ever met," she continued on. "He took me dancing; the fair, and then we went on a handsome cab ride."

"Sounds like you've had quite the date," Mrs. Pearce said, her usually stern features softening at her daughter's happiness. "But, I think we need to get this lovesick young lady to bed."

Emma bounced out of her mother's arms, twirling like a ballerina, singing out.

Emma: _**Bed! Bed! I couldn't go to bed! My head's too light to try to set it down! **_

The Pearce women watched her stop by the main hall of the house.

Emma: _**Sleep! Sleep! I couldn't sleep tonight. Not for all the jewels in the crown!**_

She grabbed Alma and began to dance around the living room.

Emma: _**I could have danced all night! I could have danced all night! And still have begged for more. **_

Emma released Alma, grabbing Eleanor and repeating the move.

Emma: _**I could have spread my wings and done a thousand things I've never done before.**_

Mrs. Pearce held her arms in place, wordlessly saying, "I don't think so."

Emma: _**I'll never know what made it so exciting; why all at once my heart took flight. **_

Emma raced up the stairs, her sisters and mother chasing after her.

Emma: _**I only know when he began to dance with me I could have danced, danced, danced all night!**_

Alma shrugged at her sister's words.

Alma: _**It's after ten now.**_

Eleanor's face was now mirroring her mother's usual look.

Eleanor: _**Don't you agree now, she ought to be in bed.**_

Emma raced through the house, changing for bed, singing as she did.

Emma: _**I could have danced all night! I could have danced all night! And still have begged for more. I could have spread my wings and done a thousand things I've never done before.**_

She stopped near her room, singing to her mother and her sisters, finally grabbing her mother's hands and forcing her to dance.

Emma: _**I'll never know what made it so exciting. Why all at once my heart took flight. I only know when he began to dance with me. I could have danced, danced, danced all night!**_

Mrs. Pearce took advantage of this, spinning her middle child into her bed, before covering her with the comforter.

Mrs. Pearce: _**I understand, dear. It's all been grand, dear. But now it's time to sleep.**_

Mrs. Pearce turned out the light, leaving Emma alone. The light being gone did not dim the light in her heart as she continued singing, whispering this time.

Emma: _**I could have danced all night; I could have danced all night. And still have begged for more. I could have spread my wings, and done a thousand things I've never done before.**_

Her voice grew more expressive and stronger with each passing note.

Emma: _**I'll never know what made it so exciting. Why all at once my heart took flight. I only know when he began to dance with me I could have danced, danced, danced all night!**_

Emma held that final note until she heard Alma scream, "Please go to sleep, Julie Andrews!"

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Faith and Natalie were laughing happily at Emma's story. Emma wiped a tear from her eye.

"I knew that night that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him," she said. "But, life happens when you're planning for the future." She said, solemnly, her eyes fading to her wedding ring.

"Are you all right, Grandma?" Natalie asked.

"I'm fine," Emma said. "I got 23 years with your grandfather, and I've had all this time with the two of you, and Luke, and Aaron, and Ethan, and all my other grandchildren. I'm the happiest woman in the world."

Lily opened the door.

"Faith," she called out, "Ryan's downstairs."

Faith stood up, trying her best to press the non-existent wrinkles out of her skirt.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Gorgeous," Emma stated.

"I hope so," Faith muttered as she followed her mother out of the room.

Emma chuckled as she heard the flash of the camera and Faith's groans. She looked around the room, the vanity mirror's lights pressing against her ring. Emma gently raised her hand to her lips and kissed her ring finger.

"I love you, Harvey," she whispered, humming their song as she stood up and walked out of the room, turning out the lights as she did.

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**A/N: Hopefully, I did a service to relationship that was never shown on TV. I always thought that if Harvey was still alive, he and Emma would be the Christopher and Nancy Hughes on their family. And, sometimes, I think the Snyders need that. So, read, enjoy, and tell what you think.**


	23. Ten Minutes Ago

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Seth Spencer walked over to Maddie Coleman, the two dressed up as Prince Charming and Cinderella for the annual costume ball at the Snyder Foundation.

"May have this dance, young lady?" he asked in the best princely impression he could muster.

Maddie laughed at her boyfriend's request. "Remember what happened the last time we tried to dance?"

"Yes," Seth grimaced; he was unconscious for a week following his errant attempt to impersonate Link Larkin of _Hairspray_ fame.

"But, if it makes you happy," she said, "I'll lead."

"I think I trust you with that," he concurred, taking her hand.

The two danced across the floor, passing each couple they saw. Eventually, however, Seth took the lead, twirling his girl, before they continued to waltz to the music.

Hours later, Luke walked by, a slightly inebriated Noah on his shoulder.

"Can you two take care of locking up?" he asked. "I need to get him home before…" he was cut off by Noah slapping him on his backside, "before he does that."

"We'll turn around if you boys need some 'quality' time," Maddie said.

"Quality time?" Seth asked, his eyes showing clear signs of confusion not unlike the time he trapped himself in his own car.

"We'll have plenty of quality time tonight," Luke stated. "Molly and my Dad have Loah tonight."

"Oh," Maddie replied, her mouth curving to the shape of her word.

Luke nodded, "I'm trusting you two to lock up."

"Oh," Seth finally said. "You guys are talking about sex."

Luke dropped Noah while he shook with laughter. "Wow, this guy has been under more temples then a pharaoh and he can't figure out a euphemism for it."

"Lay off," Maddie retorted. "He's a one-woman man now."

Meanwhile, Noah was crawling away from Luke, hoping this would get his husband away from their friend. A surefire tactic when you're five, at 29 it was a little more difficult.

"Speaking of men, yours is doing his Rugrats impression," Maddie quipped.

Luke turned around. "Good night, you two," he said, chasing after his husband.

That, in and of itself, was a sight worth watching: a pirate chasing a ninja. Maddie tried not to laugh at the struggle that soon ensued between the two. Seth, however, was not so subtle; he was rolling on the floor, clutching his sides.

This continued until Luke and Noah finally managed to leave the foundation building and head home. This left Seth and Maddie alone at last.

Seth sprang to his feet, landing in front of Maddie. "Thank you most kindly for the dance," he said, smiling.

"You are most kindly welcome, your highness," she returned the smile.

Seth moved in closer, "I have a strange feeling that we have we had met before, that I have heard your voice. Is that possible?"

"It's possible," Maddie said. "Yes, everything is possible tonight."

"Everything is different, everything has changed since you came," Seth continued. "I have never felt this way before."

"Nor I," Maddie, still feeling very much like Cinderella, replied.

That cued The Band, who began to play another song, one they both loved. He moved around her and sang,

Seth: _**Ten minutes ago, I saw you. I looked up when you came through the door. My head started reeling, you gave me the feeling the room had no ceiling or floor. **_

Maddie turned away, a smile forming on her face as she gave the thumbs up to The Band. Seth stepped in closer.

Seth: _**Ten minutes ago, I met you, and we murmured our "how do you dos?" I wanted to ring out the bells, and fling out my arms, and sing out the news. I have found her; she's an angel, with the dust of the stars in her eyes. **_

As he sang this, Seth pulled Maddie around, brushing her cheek softly with his hand.

Seth: _**We are dancing, we are flying, and she's taking me back to the skies! **_

She took his hands.

Seth: _**In the arms of my love, I'm flying, over mountain and meadow and glen. And I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again. I may never come down to earth again.**_

Maddie pulled away, letting the music rain down on her before looked back at him and sang.

Maddie: _**Ten minutes ago, I saw you. You looked up when I came through the door. My head started reeling you gave me the feeling the room had no ceiling or floor. **_

She stepped in closer to Seth.

Maddie: _**Ten minutes ago I met you and we murmured our "how do you dos?" I wanted to ring out the bells and fling out my arms and to sing out the news.**_

He put out his hands again, which she graciously took.

Seth: _**I have found her.**_

Maddie: _**I have found him; he's the light of the stars in my eyes.**_

Seth: _**We are dancing…**_

Maddie: _**We are flying…**_

Seth: _**And she's taking me back to the skies!**_

She released her grip on his hands, moving away yet again.

Maddie: _**In the arms of my love, I'm flying over mountain, and meadow, and glen.**_

Seth would not be denied as he pursued Maddie to the middle of the dance floor.

Seth: _**And I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again.**_

They linked hands again.

Seth and Maddie: _**I may never come down to earth again!**_

This signaled The Band to get the hell out of Dodge, but they continued to play while the couple danced toward the wall. Seth was the first to hit the wall, Maddie's lips leaning forward and kissing him. The kiss gained more heat as Maddie hit the nearby light switch, turning off the main lights of the room, but still retaining a romantic glow.

"I thought we were locking up," Seth said in between kisses.

"After we're done," Maddie answered back, her fingers nimbly undoing the strings on the back of his costume.

Seth soon got the picture. Luke and Noah were having their quality time; he and Maddie were going to have theirs.

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**A/N: Another fun little scene that I blatantly stole from another movie, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, which starred Stuart Damon as Prince Charming, who played Ralph Manzo just recently on ATWT and was macking on Audrey Coleman. Spill, tell me what you think.**


	24. A Sad Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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**Scene: For those of you who read chapter 10, this is a continuation of that and a conclusion.**

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Luciano Grimaldi sat in a prison cell, his temper straining against the surface. He had always known that society's constraints of the way he lived were harsh, but this was too much for the young man. He turned his head to look at his sleeping lover, Noah Mayer.

"I'm sorry," he muttered under his breath, Noah's life was ruined, but that was only the cherry on the sundae.

His wife, Madeline, had been ostracized, as had their two children, his father had gone insane, and his uncle was publically humiliated by the trial and his attempts to save both men, and Luciano was to blame.

Maybe not entirely, but, in his mind and heart, he was responsible for it all. He walked over to Noah, kneeling next to him.

"I am so sorry," he repeated, resting his head on the cell's bench. "If I hadn't pursued you like this, you're life would still be perfect. It would've been better if we had never met."

He stood up again, drying his eyes on his moth-eaten sleeve.

"Grimaldi," he heard a deep, soothing voice call out.

Luciano turned to see Noah sitting up, smiling at him. Familiar music filled the air as he sang a familiar tune.

Noah: _**We all lead such elaborate lives, wild ambitions in our sights. How an affair of the heart survives days apart and hurried nights. **_

Noah stood up, moving closer to a hesitant Luciano, who didn't want to make their situation worse.

Noah: _**Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to live like that. Seems quite unbelievable to me, I don't want to love like that. I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser, free.**_

Still, Noah's touch proved too much for him to take and he rested his head on his lover's shoulder, the taller man singing into his ear.

Noah: _**We all live in extravagant times; playing games we all can't win. Unintended emotional crimes take some out take others in.**_

Luciano broke loose of Noah again when he saw the guards glaring at them. Noah saw this and pulled him into the darkness of their cell, as they had met many times before.

Noah: _**Too many choices tear us apart; I don't want to live like that. Too many choices tear us apart; I don't want to love like that. **_

The music was growing in the air, Noah's arms were around him, Luciano felt whole for the first time in a long time.

Noah: _**I just want to keep your heart. May this confession be the start…**_

Noah sang out, his face a hairsbreadth away from Luciano's.

Noah: _**I know you'll give me courage to face what I must face with all these complications in another time and place!**_

Luciano joined in with Noah, their voices blending, once again, to create a perfect harmony.

Noah and Luciano: _**We all lead such elaborate lives, we don't know whose words are true. An affair of the heart survives all the pain the world can do…**_

Luciano took control of the song.

Luciano: _**I'm so tired of all we're going through; I don't want to live like that.**_

Noah reclaimed the song, singing to Luciano as the two fell to their knees.

Noah: _**I'm so tired of all we're going through; I don't want to love like that. I just want to be with you now and forever peaceful, true. **_

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A light surrounded the soundstage that housed the As the World Turns set. Soulless Warlock stepped into the light, his wand at his side. He waved it around, allowing the cast to vanish from sight. SW walked toward the Snyder farm set, gathering his belongings.

He looked down at the notebook that had an outline for two future fanficitions. Smiling, he turned to the audience on the web and began to sing.

Soulless Warlock: _**From deep within a tomb a gentle light still shone, showing me my path as I ascended to the throne. **_

Another light came up, revealing a set of stairs behind the writer-warlock. He climbed them, singing as he did.

Soulless Warlock: _**Certain in my heart that ancient wars must cease, the lovers' deaths gave birth to a reign of peace.**_

He smiled to his audience.

Soulless Warlock: _**And their story, and my journey, and the lesson they provide draw their strength and inspiration from a love that never dies.**_

The music faded away as the Soulless Warlock vanished into a light for the final time in this story.

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**A/N: And that, ladies and germs, is the last official story of the As the World Sings cycle. I have one more chapter to go where me and three others say so long for now.**


	25. Got So Far to Go

**Disclaimer: I do not own the songs featured in this story. Nor do I own the characters. Well, I own the OCs and that is all that I can say is mine.**

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Soulless Warlock sat in the throne room of his tower, a simple tower most evil overlords had for their plans. He looked down at his watch.

"Where the hell are they?" he groaned.

On those words, he heard what sounded like a scuffle. The clones had probably got loose again. Damn Warren for giving them free will. Whatever happened to clones with no free will? It had to be this new age crap.

He walked over to the door, his hand on the doorknob when a small body was hurtled into the door. The force of the body hitting the door knocked it opened, smashing SW behind it.

"So, where is he?" the annoyed voice of Luke Snyder asked, his head darting back and forth around the office.

Seth Spencer hopped to his feet, rubbing his own head.

"He told me he would be here," Seth said. "After all, outside of plans that don't work, he has no life."

"I heard that," Soulless Warlock growled, pushing the door open, almost knocking Noah over.

Soulless Warlock stepped forward, a murderous gaze leveled at Seth.

"Sir," a new voice called out racing into the throne room, knocking SW over again. "We're sorry; we'll have these people removed once and for all."

"No," Soulless Warlock commanded, pulling himself to his feet. "These were the ones I was expecting."

The guard bowed to his overlord, turning on his heels and goose-stepping back to his post.

"So," Noah mused, his hands in his pockets, "this is how an evil overlord-warlock-writer lives?"

"Yeah," SW said. "It's cozy," he said crossing over to his desk. "Onto business. You're all probably wondering why I called you all here."

"That would usually be the first thing people ask when an evil overlord calls for an audience," Seth replied.

SW smiled at his creation, "True," he said. "So, I'll tell you all now. You three made the most musical appearances in As the World Sings." He continued. "With that in mind, I decided that the four of us should close the story out."

The three exchanged glances, as if asking each other if they should go along with this.

"All right," Seth said.

"I'm game," Noah added.

"We already know that," Soulless Warlock said.

"He said 'game', you half-deaf little gnome," Luke retorted.

"Aside from insulting me," SW stated, "I want you guys to look over the music and then meet me in my recording studio in the dungeons."

Soulless Warlock turned on his heel and walked out of the throne room, his cloak billowing in the conveniently placed draft.

"Dungeon?" Noah asked.

Seth nodded. "Yeah, he says it's for experiments, but I personally think he's working through some serious issues."

Luke and Noah exchanged looks over Seth's head. They really needed to make sure he didn't take any more blows to the head if they wanted to keep their sanity. The trio walked over to Soulless Warlock's desk, surveying it for music.

"I don't see anything," Noah stated.

No sooner did he say this then a tripod of helmets emerged from desk and flew across the room, grabbing the three young men. A volt of purple electricity shot through the wires and into the tops of the helmets, knocking them around the room.

Several hours later, they emerged into the recording studio in the lower levels of the tower. Luke looked the most murderous of all.

"Good to see you guys," Soulless Warlock said, smiling wickedly.

"Let's just do this and get it over with," Noah said, grabbing a half-mad Luke.

Soulless Warlock stood up, tapping the music stand, releasing a three more stands out of the ground, the last one catching Noah in the junk. The young man hunched over, screaming in pain.

Seth cringed at the sight of his cousin falling to his knees. "Ouch," he said. "I hope you and Noah didn't have plans tonight, Luke."

"Not really," Luke said between gritted teeth, his fiery glare leveled at SW.

Soulless Warlock waved his hand, levitating Noah off of the ground and resting him in a chair he mentally pulled from a corner.

"So, how come you can't do all this stuff when you're out of the tower?" Seth asked, taking his seat near the stand.

Soulless Warlock sighed, "It's all a matter of location and possibility. On top of that, I've got this place wired in my magical techniques, so it can double as a weapon if I really needed it too. Outside is different story."

"Cool," Seth said, placated by the explanation.

Soulless Warlock crossed over to his seat, plopping into it. He raised his hands and a upbeat tune began to play.

"Now, if there will be no further interruptions?" he asked.

The trio shook their heads collectively as the music continued. Soulless Warlock smiled and sang into the microphone hanging in front of him.

Soulless Warlock: _**Hey old friend, let's look back on the crazy clothes we wore.**_

Luke joined into the fray.

Luke: _**Ain't it fun to look back and to see it's all been done before?**_

Seth's baritenor voice was next on the recording track.

Seth: _**All those nights together are a special memory.**_

Noah seemed to have recovered enough to move his legs around and sing, smiling at Luke.

Noah: _**And I can't wait for tomorrow just as long as you're dancing next to me.**_

The quartet sang together.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**'Cause it's so clear every year we get stronger.**_

Seth stood up, his voice gaining more power.

Seth: _**What's gone is gone,**_

Noah took Luke's hand.

Noah: _**The past is the past,**_

Luke smiled and sang.

Luke: _**Turn the radio up,**_

Soulless Warlock belted out with enthusiasm.

Soulless Warlock: _**And then hit the gas 'cause…**_

The quartet sang again, Luke standing to sing a little louder with Seth.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long 'till it's time to go.**_

Soulless Warlock joined the duo, singing a little louder as the others had done.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**So, most days we'll take it fast, and some nights lets we'll it slow. I know we've come so far, but baby, baby we've got so far to go.**_

Seth put his arm around Luke.

Seth: _**Hey old friend, together, side by side and year by year.**_

Luke patted Seth on the back and sang to him.

Luke: _**The road was filled with twists and turns, oh but that's the road that got us here.**_

Soulless Warlock added his two cents.

Soulless Warlock: _**Let's move past the bad times, but before those memories fade…**_

Noah stood up, kissing Luke on the cheek before belt out.

Noah: _**Let's forgive but not forget and learn from all the mistakes we made!**_

The quartet moved around the stage, SW waving his hand to wire the entire room for sound.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**'Cause it's so clear every year we get stronger. So don't give up, and don't say when, and just get back on the road again 'cause…**_

They happily sang the refrain.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long till it's time to go. So, most days we'll take it fast, and some nights we'll take it slow. I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby we've got so far to go.**_

Soulless Warlock led the others around the room, each one improvising dance moves, singing as they did.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**Hey old friend come along for the ride, there's plenty of room so jump inside. The highway's rocky every now and then, but it so much better than where I've been.**_

_**Just keep movin', at your own speed, your heart is all the compass you'll ever need. Let's keep cruisin' the road we're on 'cause the rear view mirror only shows what's gone, gone, gone...Got so far to go…**_

They stopped for a moment and sang out.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**'Cause it's so clear…**_

Noah belted out another set of lyrics.

Noah: _**Every year we get stronger!**_

The trio joined hands, SW was a little less touchy-feely (It pays to be soulless sometimes), as they sang together.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**So shine that light, take my hand, and let's dance into tomorrow land.**_

They sang the refrain once again, the upness of the song creating a happiness in each of the characters, except SW, of course.

Soulless Warlock, Seth, Noah, and Luke: _**'Cause…I know we've come so far, but we've got so far to go. I know the road seems long, but it won't be long till it's time to go. So, most days we'll take it fast, and some nights we'll take it slow. I know we've come so far, oh but baby, baby we've got so far to go…**_

The music began to fade along with the screen the quartet was standing on.

"What's going on?" Seth questioned.

"I'm ending the story here," Soulless Warlock replied.

"So, it's over?" Luke asked.

"Yes," Soulless Warlock said. "Well, this story is over. We've got a bunch more stories to tell."

**0000000**

**A/N: And that, constant reader, is what we call that. I hope you enjoyed reading this anthology as much as I enjoyed writing it. So, because I don't believe in good-byes, I would like to say, good night, good luck, good morning, good afternoon and good evening.**


End file.
